


The Wrong Blight

by DesmondKane



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Amity Blight Angst, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Art, Bisexual Disaster Luz Noceda, Boscha is an irredeemable monster, Digital Art, Don't @ Me, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gay Amity Blight, Gay Disaster Amity Blight, HOW IS CHAPTER 2 LONGER I DON'T EVEN-, Help!, Lesbian Amity Blight, Love Triangles, Luz Noceda Angst, Pining, Skara is best girl, The Grom (The Owl House), The first chapter is almost 40 pages!, art included
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:59:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 50,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28111287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesmondKane/pseuds/DesmondKane
Summary: It was a Monday after school when Amity’s heart started to crack.A ringing began in her pointed ears as her breath hitched. The words that had just come out of her crush’s mouth couldn’t be true. She couldn’t have heard her properly. It had to be a mistake.“Wh-what?” Amity asked, barely able to contain the shock in her voice. “What did you just say?”Luz placed a hand on the back of her neck and rubbed, sheepishly blushing and avoiding eye contact with any of her friends. “I...I kinda, sorta, really have a thing for Em,” she repeated.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Luz falls for one of the Blight girls.It's just not Amity.(My first attempt at trying to write a more angsty fic. I hope you enjoy.)
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Emira Blight & Luz Noceda, Emira Blight/Viney, Willow Park & Skara
Comments: 74
Kudos: 239





	1. The Wrong Blight

**Author's Note:**

> Before you kill me, let me assure you all that this WILL have a happy ending when I finish the whole thing. But I wanted to at least try writing something a little angstier than usual. This story, if you've read my other stuff, is NOT my usual wheelhouse; I usually make tooth-rotting fluff based on music. But I saw a post on Reddit about the idea of Luz having a crush on Emira and the idea just stuck. Eventually, I started writing it and I couldn't stop. In fact, if you didn't read the tags, you probably don't realize this is almost a full. 40. Pages. And it's only the first chapter.
> 
> Yeah.
> 
> Stick around till the end, though. I'll have a sneak peek at both the second chapter of this, as well as for my other ongoing story I am still working on, "Fearless Champions," along with something pretty special for fans who like to meet cool Owl House fans...;)

It was a Monday after school when Amity’s heart started to crack.

A ringing began in her pointed ears as her breath hitched. The words that had just come out of her crush’s mouth couldn’t be true. She couldn’t have heard her properly. It had to be a mistake.

“Wh-what?” Amity asked, barely able to contain the shock in her voice. “What did you just say?”

Luz placed a hand on the back of her neck and rubbed, sheepishly blushing and avoiding eye contact with any of her friends. “I...I kinda, sorta, really have a thing for Em,” she repeated.

Amity felt as if she’d just been slapped. When Luz had grabbed her hand and dragged her into the empty classroom, Amity’s mind had gone into overdrive, imagining all the reasons Luz would want to take her someplace so quiet and intimate. Was she going to ask her for help with Abominations homework? Was she going to vent about the Oracle teacher grading too hard on her last test again?

Was Luz going to kiss her?

Of course, Amity hadn’t placed too much stock in that last guess, and unfortunately, when Luz left to drag in Willow and Gus, she knew she was right not to. But still, even in Amity’s worst nightmares, she could never have imagined what Luz had just said coming out of her mouth. 

Amity could feel her perfectly polished nails, black as her soul Edric would joke, digging into the palm of her hands as she held them against her lap. She looked around the classroom, her mind swimming in a sea of emotions suddenly crashing over her. It was mostly empty of course, save for Luz’s friend Gus, who seemed surprisingly excited at Luz’s deceleration, and Willow, who side eyed her childhood friend with a look of concern. Amity looked back to the front of the room, at Luz, still acting slightly embarrassed about her announcement, but also incredibly giddy, as if she had just invited them all to her wedding.

Her wedding to E-

_Don’t you DARE finish that thought._

“Uhm...what brought...when did this...how…” Amity was completely incapable of finding the words she wanted to say. Every time she opened her mouth all she wanted to do was beg Luz to reconsider, to yell at her about how ridiculous it all was, maybe even to just scream out her frustration.

But instead Amity did what she did best when it came to her crush; hold herself back.

Luz bit her bottom lip. “Yeah, I thought you’d find it weird…”

_Weird?_ Amity thought. _No, not weird. Weird is how you ramble for hours about silly theories on how Azura and Hecate will end up together based on one throwaway line. Weird is how you always show off new glyphs with the same gleam of wonder in your eyes no matter how simple it is. Weird is how you took years upon years of emotional barriers and walls I built inside myself, years of acting smug and superior, and tore it all down with just the simple act of being you._

_Weird is how you can’t see that you’re breaking my heart._

“Buuuuut,” Luz continued, dangerously oblivious to Amity’s inner monologue, “I just...I just couldn’t help it.” Luz squealed, completely and utterly lost in her own head. “She’s just so…so...CUTE! And she’s an occasionally vulnerable upper class man,” she said with a wink, a sly grin crossing her face.

Amity’s face couldn’t hide her shock. Her head was swimming with so many emotions; fear, anger, sadness, regret. They all swirled inside her, around and around like tiny fish, ready to devour Amity’s psych. 

Noting the look on her friend's face, Luz rushed out a defense. “And, yeah, I know her and Ed aren’t, ya know, ALWAYS the best to you,” she admitted, “but they seem to be getting better, really. They haven’t pulled anything like the library stunt since, and I think Em genuinely does care about you and-“

“Pfff, whaaaaaa,” Amity sputtered out, attempting to appear completely fine and at ease. She put her fear up on her desk, her hands behind her head,and put on an absolutely fake smile. “Nah, I’m fine. It’s cool, Luz, everything’s cool. Just, ya know, a bit surprised but hey, that’s you, after all, full of surprises.” She barked out a laugh that sounded far more bitter and fake than anything, still trying to maintain the false appearance of cool, calm, and collected she hoped would put her adorable but oblivious crush at ease.

She could feel all the eyes in the room on her for a brief moment, and Amity was worried she was about to burst into flames. Gus’s eyes were filled with confusion, Willow’s concern, and Luz’s with a bit of both. Thankfully, Luz didn’t seem to recognize it as much as Amity thought; she merely clapped her hands together and beamed. “Thank you Am. I’m glad you approve.” 

_“Approve” is a strong word,_ Amity thought. _I prefer “Want to tell you how badly I need you but can’t bring myself to say it because I know it wouldn’t change anything.”_

“Yeah,” Amity muttered, trying to hide the depression in her voice. “Totally…”

Amity heard Willow clear her throat. “Uhm, Luz,” she said, raising a hand as if she were in class. “Isn’t she just, I dunno, maybe a smidge old for you?”

“Whaaa,” Luz asked, dismissing Willow’s question with a wave. “Sure, she’s a couple years older, and maybe a foot taller, but so what? It’s not like a creepy difference or anything. And besides, I’m a romantic! I’ve always believed love wins the day!”

“YES,” Gus shouted, jumping over his desk and rushing over to Luz, an ear-to-ear grin crossing his face. “Up tight,” he cried, holding up a hand.

“It’s top, but I like your enthusiasm,” Luz declared, hi-fiving the young illusionist. “It’s what we're gonna need for Friday!”

“Friday?” Amity raised an eyebrow, a look of concern crossing her face. “What’s-”

“Well, ya see Am,” Luz began, “you don’t just TELL a girl like Em you like her, ya know?” You need to do something BIG!” Jumping atop the teachers desk, Luz turned to her friends with the look of a general about to give a bold speech to invigorate them. “Something HUGE! Something no one, and I mean NOONE, at Hexside has even considered before!” Luz then pointed to her friends, one by one, from Gus to Willow to Amity. “And, if you’re willing, I need YOUR help to make it work!”

“I volunteer,” Gus said, jumping up and down, giddy and excited. “I just LOVE big romantic gestures.” Digging through his bag, he pulled out a copy of _Pride and Pythius_ and beamed as he held it out for everyone to see. “It could be just like this one!”

“OOOOH,” Luz let out, jumping off the desk. 

“Gus, don’t they both die in that,” Willow questioned, raising an eyebrow at her young friend's eagerness to see Luz leave the earthly realm.

“AND turn into ghosts who forever live within a big spooky mansion,” he added, as if it made the idea any better.

“Hmmmmm,” Luz mumbled, now seemingly less interested in the idea. “Well, I don’t want to die or become a ghost anytime soon, but again, love the enthusiasm!” She turned to her other friends, a gleam of hope in her eyes. “Whad’ya guys say, huh? Think we can find a non-lethal way to declare my feelings to Em by Friday?”

For the briefest of moments, Willow glanced at Amity with a look of concern before returning to meet Luz’s eyes. “Well...”

“I’ll do it,” Amity declared.

Willow looked back at the golden eyed witch, eyes wide and filled with surprise. “I suppose I can help then, too,” she said after a slight hesitation.

If Luz noticed Willow’s strange reaction, she didn’t show it. She merely beamed, her face as bright as her light glyphs as she threw herself to Amity, hugging her close. 

“OOOOOOOH,THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU,” she cried out. “You’re the best Amity!”

_TOOCLOSETOOCLOSETOOCLOSE_ , Amity thought, her mind racing at unprecedented speeds. “Yup,” she chuckled out, rolling her head as far away from Luz as she could to avoid breathing in her scent. She must have switched shampoos or something, because today it reminded her of screamberries, her favorite. “That’s me, haha…I’m the best…”

“And you get in here too, Willow,” she said, stretching her arm to grab the first real friend she made on the Isles, dragging her into the hug like a planet into her bright, sunny orbit. Willow, meanwhile, raised the corners of her lips and hugged her best friend back, but she still looked back at Amity as if she was looking at a witch who’d just lost everything.

Amity felt like she had.

As Luz finally let go of her friends, she looked happier than Amity had ever seen her before. “Right,” she declared, putting out a hand, “Operation ‘Confess to Em in the Best Way Ever’ is a GO!”

Gus was the first to throw his hand into the circle, clearly almost as excited as Luz. “Yeah! Let’s do this!!”

Willow nodded and out one of hers in as well. “I’m with you, Luz.” She looked back at Amity, the gleam of concern still in her eyes. “Ami?” 

Amity just put her hand in, nodding. “Me too.”

With a look of complete determination and childlike excitement on her face, Luz threw the fist not at the bottom of the hand pile into the air. “Woo-hoo,” she cried out. “This is awesome! With all of us working together, Em’s gonna love me for sure!”

_She sure will,_ Amity thought, her lower lip curling underneath her top teeth.

___________________________________________________________________________

The meeting ended shortly after, with Luz admitting she didn’t have any real plans yet, but that she’d think of some and they can talk about them tomorrow after school in the same classroom. They agreed, and with a smile, another big hug ( _oh Titan WHY are you so physical)_ and a wave, the four went their separate ways.

Or at least, they should have.

“Amity, wait,” Willow called, rushing over to her, arm outstretched to try and catch up with her. “I was wondering if maybe I could walk with you today, maybe?”

Amity raised an eyebrow. “Uh, Willow...you live in the complete opposite direction from me.”

Willow shrugged. “I...wanted to take the scenic route.”

Amity squinted at the plant witch before releasing a sigh. “If you want, sure. The twins left right after, so not like I got any other company.”

Willow nodded and stepped beside her, patting her friend gently on the back. “Well, let’s get going then,” she said. “I’ll follow your lead.”

Amity just nodded, and the two witches started to make their way to her mansion. For the beginning, they were silent, save for the sound of their boots on the occasional snapped twig or crinkly leaf. Neither of them even looked at each other, too uncertain about what to say or do to break the tension. 

Finally, after what felt a literal eternity to Amity, Willow let out a small, blatantly fake cough.

“So...Luz and Em, huh?”

Amity blushed lightly and nodded, a little harder than she intended. “Yup. That is certainly...a thing...that could happen.”

Willow nodded, less fiercely then Amity, but still clearly not entirely into it. “Oh, yeah. That is certainly...a thing…”

Amity sighed, knowing exactly why Willow was here. “Am I that bad at hiding it?”

Her friend blinked, seemingly confused, but then nodded. “Yeaaaaah, you kinda are.” Willow gave a small smirk, but without any humor. “I’m sorry.”

Amity let out a short, tiny laugh, a humorless burst of air. “What? So my crush has a thing for my sister, who’s been tormenting me for years. It’s not like this is literally my worst fear come to life.” She grinned, though again, without any humor. “I mean, at least it’s not BOSCHA, right?”

Willow’s eyes widened, and she let out a genuine howl of laughter at the notion. “Oh my...HA,” She slapped her knee as she heaved at the thought, and Amity couldn’t help but feel the corners of her lips feel a little less tense. “Luz and Boscha...oh Titan…” She shook her head, chuckling. “I mean, what’s next? ME and Boscha?” 

Amity couldn’t help but snort at that idea. “Oh wow, Willow. Way to give me nightmares for the next week.” She shook her head incredulously. “What would the kids even be like?”

“Ohohoh,” Willow said, still, riding high on laughter. “I know! They’ll literally have four eyes!” Snickering, she continued. “They’ll just have the fourth replace their mouth!” 

Amity shook her head, a smile stretching across her face. “But then how will they get to tell everyone how much better they are then them?” She took her left hand, formed it into a circle, and placed it onto her forehead. “I’m Boscha, and I’m the captain of the Grudgby team who hasn’t done anything else since but bully everyone,” she stated in an obnoxious parody of Boscha’s already obnoxious voice. Willow continued to laugh, so Amity continued her impression. “I tease Amity aaaaaaaaall the time, and I live only to prank her with my obnoxious brother.”

Willow’s chuckles started to subside as her face showed concern. “Uh, Amity…”

“And my parents shower me in waaaaaaay more praise and affection then Amity, because I’m so special and cool and so much smarter even though she was Hexside’s top student! And I can’t even let her keep her own crush! I’m so much better and prettier and-”

“Amity!”

Amity was brought back to reality by Willow’s insistence. Blinking, the words she had just been crying out sunk in, and a light blush of embarrassment dusted her cheeks. Turning away, she let out a low, soft sigh. “Sorry, Willow,” she muttered. “That was...uncalled for.”

She suddenly felt Willow’s arms wrap around her, and the plant witch squeezed tightly. “Hey, I get it. This can’t be easy for you.” Pulling back, she placed her hands on Amity’s shoulders, looked the green-haired witch in the eyes, and smiled. “You know, if you want to sit this out, I’m sure Luz would understand without being suspicious.”

Amity nodded. “Yeah, you’re probably right…” Though she was grateful for Willow’s support, the abomination witch removed her friend's hands with a pained look in her eye. “But I can’t just...just NOT do anything.”

“But Amity-” Willow began to plead before she was cut off.

“Willow...we’re almost at Blight Manor. You should probably turn around now. I don’t know if my parents will be ok with you…” She trailed off. 

Willow took the hint.

With a heavy sigh, Willow nodded. “Yeah, ok.” Turning around, she glanced back briefly at Amity. She looked as if she was about to say something, but she kept her mouth shut instead, walking away from Amity.

Now, there was nothing on the path to Blight Manor but her. 

She took one last look at her one of the few friends from childhood she actually still liked and turned back, willing, though not eager, to finish her walk home.

___________________________________________________________________________

The rest of the night seemed fairly standard for the Blight household; Amity spent her first two hours working on homework and studying her Abominations books, then walked down to the oversized dining hall for a mostly silent dinner with her family, and finally a few more hours of studying before sliding beneath the covers of her old bed to sleep. Outside of her private spaces, everything seemed perfectly normal.

Inside, of course, she was barely able to function.

She couldn’t concentrate on her homework, no matter how hard she stared at it or scribbled tiny doodles in the margins. Her mind raced with a thousand thoughts, all of them relating to Luz. Which, usually, wasn't surprising, or even a bad thing. She would often imagine the two of them together, dancing or having a private Moonlight Conjuring or even just cuddling with no greater context. Sure, none of these scenarios were real, but to Amity, that was ok. She’d spent her whole life living with her siblings and their illusions; by now, she was fine with finding the enjoyment in things that weren’t real.

But now, those fantasies are gone, replaced by images of Luz and her sister, together, laughing and smiling and joking and holding hands and Amity just watching on in the background, being the third wheel while her crush and her sister fell harder and harder in love.

She held back tears and picked herself up from the desk, rummaging through its top drawer for the single item she knew could comfort her. Picking through crumpled confession notes and old homework assignments, she quickly wrapped her hands around one of her most cherished items; a small, dark green box with a lighter green “A” atop it. Unclasping it’s lid, Amity opened it, and smiled as she saw inside; a golden tiara, with a pink diamond surrounded by a set of petal-shaped gems of the same shade. 

Taking her Grom tiara out of its box with as much care as she could muster, Amity placed it atop her head gingerly and sighed in relief to herself. As dumb as it was to admit, the tiara was something of a safety latch for her emotional state. Just looking at it or, better yet, putting it on, calmed her nerves and helped to drive her negative emotions at bay. Ironic, given Grom itself was a creature that forced people to face their worst fears in the first place, but the tiara didn’t remind Amity of him; it reminded her of that night.

_That one night. That one, precious night._

_Just me and her, dancing._

_Maybe it was to save the Isles. Maybe it was to defeat Grom._

_But Luz still danced with me. Luz still held me in her arms, she still spun me around, and she still made me feel as if I was the luckiest witch in the world._

_Not even Em can take that from me._

“Hey Mittens,” a voice cooed, ripping Amity away from her thoughts. Heat rose to her face, and she spun her face to see the source of both the voice and her current emotional distress; Em, casually leaning against her little sister’s door frame, a devious smirk crossing her face.

“What do you want, Em?” Amity hissed, a little more aggressively than even she expected.

Em chuckled. “What? I can’t just watch my baby sister enjoy playing princess?”

Amity realized she was still wearing the Grom tiara, and she quickly removed it, throwing it towards the tiny chest. Her face was now completely flushed from embarrassment, but she still tried to look somewhat intimidating while glaring at the older girl. “I mean it Em. I’m not in the mood for games today.”

Em simply shook her head and chuckled, reveling in her sisters clear and present humiliation. “Well, dinner’s ready, so if you want to tear yourself away from your subjects for a moment and join us common folk, that would be nice.”

Amity let out a resigned sigh. “Yeah, maybe I could use a break. I’ve been studying for a while no-” Then, realizing that Em had been making fun of her again, Amity blushed another deep shade of crimson. “That’s not what I was-”

“HA,” Em stated in a burst of laughter. “I’m just teasing. Don’t worry your pretty fake green head about it.” She gestured to her younger sister, a smirk still present on her face. “I honestly think it’s sweet. Really.” 

“What, my tiara?” Amity asked as she rushed over to wipe it off and make sure it hadn’t been dented by her careless throw (thankfully it hadn’t) before putting it back inside its little box.

“Nope,” Em said with a wink. “Your obvious crush.”

Amity felt her face light up like the sun as she turned away from Em, trying to hide it from her self-consciousness and failing miserably. “I don’t-“

“Oh relax, Mittens,” Em said with a shake of her head. “I’m not gonna tell Luz about it. I swore to keep the emotional scarring to a minimum from now on, remember? Telling the girl of your dreams how desperately you need her feels a little more cruel than funny, honestly.”

Amity turned her face back to Em, trying to look her in the eyes without fully exposing her still beet red face. “Thanks for that, I guess,” she muttered as she began shuffling her way out of the room.

“None needed, baby sis,” the older girl stated, slapping Amity’s back as she walked by. The younger Blight winced, though not from the brief physical pain.

_Please stop talking Em,_ she thought. _I just really don’t want think about my crush or Luz or you or any of that right-_

“And hey, if ya need any help telling the human how ya feel,” Em said with another wink, “I’d be more than happy to give my sagely, sisterly advice.” She stretched as she left the entrance to Amity’s room and started walking down the hall, down to the stairs. “I’ve had my fair share of girls confess their undying love for me. I know how to make it cute rather than creepy.”

Amity couldn’t help but smirk as she remembered the last time she saw her sister try to date another girl. “Like that one Glandus cheerleader you told you’d kill for who stood you up at Grom?”

Now it was Em’s turn to blush, clearly embarrassed at the reminder of her own shortcomings in love. “You promised to dare not speak of her again,” she hissed, before rushing down the stairs, leaving Amity alone for the briefest of moments to let what Em had offered truly sink in.

_Em would be willing to help me with my crush...who has a crush on her…_

Amity shook her head and walked down the stairs, trying to be careful not to go so fast as to see Em for more than she needed to.

————————————————————————————

Dinner had been as quiet as ever; no one spoke about anything outside of a brief summary of their days (Amity had, of course, been wary of mentioning anything to do with Luz or Willow, to be safe) and a brief question of “may I be excused” at the end. When it was finished, Em said she had some extra tutoring she needed to give to little orphan witches (Amity didn’t buy it for a second, but her parents didn’t seem to care) so thankfully the reminder of Luz’s crush was gone. Sadly, Amity finished her homework early, leaving her plenty of time to ask herself about just why Luz was interested in her dumb older sister.

“Is it that she’s older,” Amity asked, tapping her pencil in light irritation, her head leaning against her left cheek. “Is it her naturally green hair? Is it that stupid mole?” Amity grimaced. “I could put on a stupid little mole…”

_Maybe it’s because she never really experienced Em and Ed’s teasing, or was on the wrong side of their pranks. Maybe it’s because Em’s been pretty nice to her for the most part, while you almost had her dissected by your principal the first time you met._

Amity stopped her tapping and frowned at the memory, feeling herself turning red at the thought of how she gleefully watched her principal almost murder the human before her eyes. Or how she’d almost made her give up her passion of trying to learn magic less then a week later.

_Face it, Blight. At least her first meeting with Em had a fun snowball fight in the library. What would you tell your kids? That your first meeting with Luz was when you tried throttling her? Lovely story for them to hear._

“Urg! Shut up, me,” Amity hissed, dropping her pencil and raising her hands to cover her ears. A childish gesture, she knew, and one that didn’t stop anything, but still, one that let her at least keep some illusion of control.

_Just accept it,_ her inner demon continued, _Luz doesn’t want you. Not like how you want her. You screwed up so badly before you were friends, how you even got to that point remains a mystery. But honestly, do you truly need someone so weak as a partner? Perhaps Bosc-_

Amity growled out another “Shut up,” before pushing herself from the desk onto her feet and walking toward her bed. Throwing herself face down atop the tiny mattress that left her little wiggle room, she took her pillow, wrapped it around her head, and let out a muffled scream of frustration at herself and everything that had happened that day.

But she knew her Blight voice was partially right.

Luz didn’t like her.

There was no way she could change that.

Amity didn’t know how long she laid there, screaming into her mattress. But it was long enough to awaken in an awkward position by the sound of her Scrolls alarm, her voice hoarse, her eyes bloodshot, and her heart still heavy.

—————————————————————————-

“Ouch, Ami,” Luz asked the next day, looking at her former rival's face, “did you sleep okay last night? Ya seem really tired.”

Amity took her books from her locker and looked up at her caring, beautiful, wonderful friend and tried to give a small smile, though in her current state it probably looked more like a scowl. “I’m fine. Just...lotta homework, ya know? Soooooo much homework and studying and thinking…”

“Hmmmm…” Luz squinted at her witch friend and tapped her chin in thought, as if not _quite_ buying what she was selling. Her eyes narrowed before popping open again, her mouth forming a small ‘o’ as she herself let out a small “Oooooooh,” in realization. “I think I know what’s up…”

Amity could feel the blood drain from her face as she turned, terrified, to her crush. “WHAT? NO YOU DON’T! I mean...what?”

Luz nodded, the corners of her lips curling upwards. “You were thinking about your crush last night, huh?”

_That’s...not entirely wrong,_ Amity admitted to herself. She nodded, blushing sheepishly and looking down at the marble floor of the school. “Ye-yeah. I was…”

Before Amity knew it, she felt Luz’s arm wrap around her back, and her heart flatlined for a moment. Looking back up at Luz, she saw her eyes, pools of innocence and warmth and care, staring into hers. “Ami. I know you don’t like talking about them. And I get it. Not always easy to talk about crushes.” Luz then gave a smile. A real, genuine, adorable smile that made Amity’s heart melt. “But if you wanted to do anything for them after all this, I’d be honored to help however I can.” 

Amity was of two minds about Luz’s offer, the same way she seemed to be with her since this whole Emira thing started. On one hand, she wanted to thank Luz for the offer, to tell her how much her kindness meant to her and how much Luz meant to Amity in general. And on the other she wanted to grab Luz by her collar and throttle her, screaming “Why don’t you love ME!? WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE HER?!”

Her former side won out, mostly.

“That’s...that’s sweet, Luz. Really. But I’m not the kind to go for big romantic gestures. I’m more into small scale, intimate acts, ya know? But what you’re doing for Emira...it’s super sweet.”

Luz’s eyes widened, and her smile grew three sizes as she threw her other arm around Amity’s waist, squeezing tightly. “Oh, that’s so cute! I bet we could cook up something! Maybe a romantic little dinner for two under the Grom tree? You and your crush, sharing a noodle as I help serenade them with the violin?” Luz practically swooned, her imagination seemingly running wild with all the adorable possibilities she could cook up to help her friend. And Amity had to admit, even if she had no idea what a “noodle” was, or a “violin,” the idea of being serenaded by Luz, especially under the tree they’d spent their most romantic moment together sounded...magnificent. Enough to bring a small smile to her face.

“Maybe. I’ll think abou-” But as Amity finished, she looked up to spot the last thing she wanted to see at the moment.

Emira.

Walking down the hall, her siblings smirked their signature playful smirks as they waved at friends and pulled magical pranks on enemies. Amity looked at Luz’s face, hoping she hadn’t spotted them. Unfortunately, she had, and her face was smitten; Luz’s cheeks were positively crimson, and her grin was…well, goofier than usual. She looked at Emira the same way…

_The same way I wish she looked at me._

As they came closer, Luz waved a hand excitedly, hoping to grab their attention. “Ed! Em! Hey guys!”

“Luz,” Edric called back.

“How’s the coolest human on the Boiling Isles doing this fine day,” Emira asked, giving Luz a wink. For a brief moment, Amity wondered if she could find the strength she’d had when she fought Hooty to smack the stupid look off her sisters face.

“Hey, Em.” Luz said, her grin somehow growing goofier by the second. “So, I uh, was wondering, well, I heard you’ve been tutoring illusion kids, right? That’s super cool!” 

Amity spotted her sister...was she _blushing_...as she nodded. “Well, yeah. Tutoring orphan illusion kids, that’s me, heh.”

Luz was practically vibrating with joy. “Well, I have two too many moms to be an orphan, but I could still use some tutoring after school Friday! I got this HUGE project due and-”

“Ugh, let me guess; Miss Killjoy, the joy killer’s class?” Edric rolled his eyes and shook his head. “I think I know the one. Ya gotta make a gigantic illusion of yourself and write a 50 page paper on how you made it?”

Luz’s eyes widened, though this time it was clearly in panic. “Er, yeeeeeaaaaaaaaaah….” She turned her eyes to Amity, a look of ‘Please, remind me about that later’ plastered on her face. Then, her eyes darting back to Emira, “and anyway, I was hoping you could help, Em! I mean, if you weren’t too busy or anything.”

Amity looked up at her older sister, trying to hold back her frustrations as she saw her sister rub the back of her neck. “Well, I mean, I was going to meet up with a friend, actually-”

“It won’t even be five minutes! Ten at most!” Luz clasped her hands together and smiled up at Emira, as if this was the most important thing in the whole of the world. “Just...just be willing to show me a bit of how the spell works and I’ll be completely good! Promise!”

Emira looked back at Luz before letting out a tiny sigh. “Heh. Suppose I can help ya out a little, cutie.” She tousled Luz’s hair and smirked. “Always happy to help a fellow cool witch in need.” Looking up, she spotted her sister, seemingly for the first time this whole conversation. “Oh, Mittens,” Emira exclaimed. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask; friend of a...friend of mine, they just transferred to Abominations a bit ago and they kinda need some help catching up. Think you could do it?”

Amity let out a solemn sigh, but nodded affirmatively. “Yeah. I’ll have to check my schedule, but-”

“Awesome,” Emira chimed in, ruffling her sister's hair teasingly. Amity wanted nothing more than to bite off her hand. “See ya, sis! And see ya, cutie,” she said to Luz, waving at the two as she walked away. The human merely smiled and did a strange finger pointing gesture (guns, she once called them) at Em as she walked away. When the two siblings were out of sight, Luz turned to Amity with a dreamy, lovestruck look on her face. 

“Sorry, Am. You were saying?”

Amity just sighed and shook her head. “It was nothing. Let’s just get to the meeting, ok? For Operation…something something Emira something?”

Luz rapidly shook her head, as if shaking off a hazy fog, before nodding enthusiastically. “Oh, right! Yeah, I hear ya!” Leaning forward, she grabbed Amity’s hand and smiled. “Follow me! I got a new member of the crew who’s gonna help tie it all together!”

All Amity could do was wish, for the thousandth time, that Luz wasn’t. So. Freaking. PHYSICAL!

————————————————————————————

“Luz,” Willow began, her voice gentle but firm. “Are we ENTIRELY certain that the best option to help us with our little...plan, is one of Boscha’s goons?” She raised a finger to point to Skara, sitting cross-legged up front atop the teachers desk next to the human. Amity had to admit to herself that maybe this wasn’t Luz’s _smartest_ decision.

Skara shook her head. “Guys, you can all chill! I don’t really like her at all! Same as Amity: mainly hang with her ‘cause my folks tell me to.” She let out a tiny smirk. “Trust me, first chance I can get away with it, I’ll head for the hills. I don’t need the three eye’d Grudgby obsessed poser telling me who I can and can’t hang out with.” 

Amity narrowed her eyes and looked over to Willow and Gus; just as she suspected, they both looked just as suspicious as Amity was. “No offense, Skara,” Amity began, “but...why are you even here?”

“Because,” Luz said, running up to the chalkboard, “I finally found out how I’m gonna confess to Em!” Picking up a piece of chalk, Luz quickly drew out two words: ‘MUSIC CONCERT!’ “TA-DA,” she exclaimed enthusiastically. “Whatcha guys think?”

Amity raised an eyebrow at the suggestion. _Was THAT why she suggested to serenade me...and my ‘crush,’ too? It was already on her mind?_

“YES,” Gus suddenly cried out, excitedly throwing himself over his table and running up to Luz, holding a hand up. “Best big romantic gesture ever! Up five!” Luz raised an open palm and the two hands touched. “And, I didn’t get it wrong this time!”

Luz smiled a very _‘sadly you did but you’re so innocent I can’t tell you’_ smile before looking back up at everyone else. “Skara here’s the best bard I know! Well, maybe the ONLY bard I know, really. She said she can teach everyone to play instruments so that we can serenade Em Friday! Isn’t that cool?”

Amity bit her lip. “Yeah. I suppose that sounds...cool.”

The other witches nodded, and Skara lept from the desk with the grace and skill of an acrobat. “Alright, witches,” she declared, with weird emphasis on the last word as if it were a cuss, “line up one at a time! Skara’s going to make you all into stars!” She twirled around and posed at that last word, one hand in the air and another closer to her waist, as if she were holding a guitar of some kind.

Willow and Amity glanced at each other a tad concerned, but Gus was all too eager to run forward, a wide, childlike grin stretched across his face. “Ooh, ooh! Me first, me first! I’ve always wanted to learn how to play the triangle!”

Skara stared at Gus with an inquisitive look on her face. “Kid, I assure you, I can teach you a little more then how to play a little triangle!” Twirling her fingers into a small red spell circle, Gus’s eyes widened, a red light briefly flashing inside them. 

“Whoa...” he whispered before pumping his fists into the air. “I feel like I could play anything! Even the triangle!” 

“Heck yeah, my dude! Up five!” Skara bent down, hand outstretched, and the two slapped each other’s hands, smiling. “Alright then. Blight? You wanna go next?”

Amity shivered at Skara’s use of her last name. “Just, uh, call me Amity from now on, okay, please?”

Skara nodded before spinning herself another spell circle. This time, Amity could feel a shot of sudden creativity in the back of her brain, and one brief flash of red in her eyes later, knowledge on how to play all sorts of strange and beautiful instruments popped inside her head. 

“Oh...wow!” Amity had to admit, even if Skara was trying to play them, this WAS super cool!

“Now, you, half-a...I mean, plant girl,” Skara corrected herself, turning to Willow with perhaps the tiniest blush on her cheeks Amity could notice. “Your turn, cutie.” 

Willow furrowed her brows, trying to process Skara’s statement, before her eyes flashed a dark purple. Suddenly, let out a small, scared “Oh,” before slamming her hands over her mouth. Finally, pulling them down, she said “I, er...I think I just saw how I was gonna die…”

Skara’s face turned scarlet from embarrassment. “Oh...I’m sorry, girl. I uh, been dabbling in oracle magic a bit. DON’T tell my folks, please?” 

Skara made another quick spell circle, and Willow let out a faint smile before slumping into a nearby desk, her eyes flashing red briefly. “Ahhhh...much better.”

“So, now all we gotta do is figure out all the other details,” Luz excitedly chirped. “Like, where’s it gonna be, what are we gonna play, all that fun stuff.”

Skara turned to Luz. “You don’t wanna learn any instruments, huma- uh- I mean Luz?”

She shrugged and smiled. “Already know how to play a bit of the ol’ uke. Just conjure me one and a microphone and I’ll be all set.” 

_She even plays instruments without magical help_ , Amity thought. _Is there anything Luz CAN’T do?_

One self loathing, bitter suggestion started to form in Amity’s mind, but she squashed it before it fully formed.

“Alrighty guys,” Luz declared, grabbing a piece of chalk. “Welcome to the big first official meeting of Operation ‘Confess to Em in the Best Way Ever,’ or C.E.B.W.E! Now, let’s get this party STARTED!”

——————————————————————————

Amity had to admit, even even if she hated what they were all about, the meetings were kinda fun.

Tuesday and Wednesday’s meetings fell into a steady, simple pattern: Luz, Gus, or Skara would suggest an over the top gesture that would most likely be too much for them all to do (“Let’s write a 12 hour sock puppet opera!”), Amity and Willow would let them down gently (“That’s sweet, but...no”), and the five would find some way to incorporate the spirit of the suggestion into the overall idea (“Maybe we can include some sock puppets in it.”). Wash, rinse, repeat. 

While it was a simple loop, Amity loved seeing Luz’s eyes sparkle with every silly yet sweet suggestion she heard. Seeing her smile widen whenever Amity and Willow agreed one one of her backup ideas. Being on the receiving end of her hugs whenever she got SUPER happy (which was, unsurprisingly, often). To Amity, this was the most like Luz she’d ever seen the human. Excited, innocent, eager...everything that made the girl beautiful to the Blight was on full display. And if Amity ignored the actual words from Luz’s mouth and the nagging reminder in the back of her head about how she was trying to get with her sister, she could almost imagine it all away, and just pretend they were having a Secret Azura Book Club meeting with friends. 

For Amity, Tuesday and Wednesday’s meetings were actually fun, sweet times.

It wasn’t until Thursday that her heart shattered.

———————————————————————————

“Ami,” Luz called from across the hall, flailing her arms excitedly as she burst towards her green haired friend. Clutching Amity’s hands and interweaving their fingers, Luz squealed as adorably as possible. Amity wondered if it was possible for a witches heart to literally stop from cuteness. “Ami! I just got the greatest idea for tomorrow!”

Amity blushed, and for a moment she forgot exactly what Luz was referring to. “O-of course. I’d love to hear it.”

Luz looked down, suddenly somewhat sheepish at the prospect of telling Amity her idea. “Well...honestly, it’s kinda silly. I don’t know if you’-”

“Hey,” Amity said, trying to give Luz as reassuring a smile as she could muster. “I’m sure it’s an awesome idea. I’d love to hear it.” 

Luz let out a small smile before taking in a deep breath through her nose. 

“Well, if you weren’t using it… I was thinking I could use your Grom tiara to ask Em-.”

The rest of Luz’s statement was lost in a sudden fog of noise and panic inside Amity’s mind.

She stepped back, pulling her hands away from Luz’s , her face plastered in shock. “NO!”

Luz stepped back, a little surprised herself at Amity’s reaction. “Oh. Ok.” The corners of her lips turned upwards in a somewhat small smile. “It’s fine. Just a silly idea.”

Amity calmed herself down, shaking her head before looking back at the human. For all Luz’s poor attempt to convince her she was fine, Amity saw how much her idea had meant to her. Maybe she thought it would be the perfect cheesy cherry to top off her declaration of love. Asking Em to be her Grom queen probably wouldn’t have mattered much to Em…

_But it matters to Luz._

Amity wanted to hoard the crown like a dragon. To keep it as far away from her sister as she could. It was supposed to be the one thing she couldn’t taint; the one thing about Luz that Amity could hold, cherish, and never give up.

But what would any of that matter if it made Luz unhappy?

Amity let out a small sigh and tried her best not to raise suspicion with her next statement. “No, that wasn’t...what I meant was...no, I’m not using it.” Luz’s ears perked up and she looked at Amity, the corners of her lips curling into a more real, authentic smile. “If you really want to use it, that’s ok.” 

Luz beamed, and Amity could see small pinpricks of tears form in the corner of her beautiful brown eyes. Tears of joy and thankfulness. “Thanks, Am.” Then, as suddenly as all of Luz’s hugs, she wrapped her arms around Amity’s waist and pulled her in as closely as she could. “You’re an amazing friend.”

_ICANTDOTHISICANTDOTHISICANTDOTHISICANTDOTHISICANT-_

“Uh, but I can’t go to tonight’s meeting! My parents needed me to… do … stuff… around the mansion.”

Luz let go of Amity and nodded, still smiling. “Of course! It’s ok. You’ve done so much for me and this silly little crush. I wish there was more I could do to repay you then just help you with yours.”

Amity wanted to burst into flames and die right then and there. 

“You’ve...you’ve already done so much for me, Luz. You owe me nothing…” 

The bell for the start of the final class screamed to life, informing every student that they were all now late if they weren’t already in class.

“Crap,” Luz muttered. “Hey, I’m so sorry for keeping you! I’ll see you tomorrow! Thanks again for letting me borrow the tiara! You can have it back when it’s done I swear!”

Amity let out a tiny wave as she stayed still. _No I can’t,_ Amity thought. 

She could never get her tiara back. Not the one she had. Not the one that reminded her of Luz. Not the one that reminded her of Grom.

Now all it would ever be was another reminder that Luz chose Emira, her sister, over her.

When Luz was out of sight, Amity turned on her heels and began to walk.

Walk away from her locker.

Away from her class.

And away from the school.

—————————————————————————

Amity slammed the door to her room enough for the walls to shake before throwing herself onto her still-too-small bed. Screaming into her pillow wouldn’t take any of the pain and anger away, but it sure did help distract her, if only for a moment, from it.

After a good, long scream, Amity just laid there, on her stomach, her face stuffed into her pillow as she tried to hold back her tears. She was a Blight! No matter how much she hated it, she could never show such weakness to anyone. Not even herself

After what felt like an hour of just laying on her stomach, face smothered on her pillow, Amity heard her Scroll chirp with a message. Picking herself up, she summoned it to her and looked at the screen. Her eyes were sore and tired, but she could make out Willow as the sender of the text.

‘Amity,’ it read, ‘Luz told us about the tiara. PLEASE tell me you didn’t actually tell her she could use it! I know how much it means to you, this all can’t be good for you!”

Amity sniffed, then responded to her friends text:

‘I’m fine. Luz will give it back when it’s over and it’ll be like nothing happened. Just wanted to do something nice for her.’

‘Is that why Skara told me she saw you running from the school when the final period started?’

Amity froze, the realization of what she’d done dawning on her. She’d cut class.

She. Had. Cut. Class!

For the first time since her stupid leg broke, Amity had missed a class. And the worst part was that this time she had no excuse. If her siblings found out… if her PARENTS found out…

_All because you couldn’t keep your STUPID emotions in check for 5 minutes,_ her Blight brain told her.

Amity gulped, then texted Willow back, ‘Had to hurry to a dentist appointment I forgot about.’

After a beat, Willow responded with ‘...’

Then, ‘You really think I buy that?’

Amity shut her eyes and asked herself why she couldn’t have had a less emotionally intelligent childhood best friend.

‘Amity, I know you like Luz. I know you care about her. I know you want her to be happy. And that’s sweet. But I’ve seen how you’ve been acting and how much it’s been killing you to go through all this. You shouldn’t have to destroy yourself for her! Please, tell Luz you can’t come tomorrow. Tell her you have a dentist appointment, maybe she’ll believe that. But please, don’t, for the love of the Titan, come in and do this. I don’t want you to hurt yourself anymore.’

Amity didn’t know what to say. Her fingers hovered over the scrolls keyboard, wanting to type something, anything. But what? Would she tell Willow she’d listen and not come? Or tell her the truth and say that, no, she couldn’t do that. She had to help Luz. Because that’s what Luz would do for her. She bit her lip before she finally decided to just turn off her scroll and make it disappear. She knew Willow would understand

She hoped so, anyway.

Amity laid on her bed for a while longer, unmoving, unthinking, uncaring. She just wanted to forget everything for a moment. Forget Willow, forget Em, even Luz. Just forget it all and just let herself feel relaxed.

Amity closed her eyes and slowed her breathing, finally feeling a little better from everything that had just gone down. 

After a few seconds of peace, she felt something crawling up her left arm. Something with tiny legs...eight of them…

Giving a small squeak, Amity scrambled to throw off the tiny spiders coming up her body. She flailed about until she turned off of her bed and collapsed onto the floor with a thud. As she did, she started to hear a very familiar snorting noise. An almost familial noise…

Looking up, Amity spotted her brother in the doorway, barely able to contain his laughter at the sight of his poor sister. Glaring, Amity picked herself off the floor and stomped over to him. “Oh, ha ha, Ed. Very funny! Some cheap illusion spiders, how original.” She rolled her eyes. “I thought you and Em outgrew those when you were 9!”

“Oh no, Mitten’s, they’re real. Got them off one of Em’s friends pet griffin.” He smirked playfully as Amity felt her eyes slowly widen before she began to rub her arms, legs, and head, hoping beyond hope to get every last one off her stupid brothers little spiders.

“You...you…you JERK!” Amity wanted to slap him and scream at him and cry and demand he leave her room, her section of the mansion, heck, the entirety of the Boiling Isles for all she cared!

“I don’t have...I don’t have time for...for this…” As she started to realize the spiders were now all off of her, Amity could feel herself becoming more and more emotionally drained. Her anger faded and dissipated, replaced with a sense of resentment and sadness. Her head dropped, and she started to feel herself just wanting to curl up onto the bed and, like she had before Ed showed up, forget everything.

Ed seemed to notice her sister's sudden mood swings and raised an eyebrow. “Hey, Mittens? You ok? Usually you’re much more animated when Em and I pull stuff on ya.”

Amity just turned and sighed. “It’s...it’s been a day. Please, Ed, just leave me alone.”

Ed shook his head. “Nope. Not gonna happen. My favorite baby sister needs help.” Walking up to the foot of her bed, Edric threw himself on top of its edge and patted the spot next to him. “Come on, Mittens. Tell your big bro all about it.”

Amity’s eyes narrowed to slits as she eyed her brother up and down. “What’s the catch? Is Em somewhere under my bed, ready to snatch me into some alternate dimension or something?”

Ed shook his head. “Em’s off,”He rolled his eyes as he included air quotes “‘tutoring orphaned illusion students’ so it’s just us.”

Amity wasn’t entirely sure she believed him. But, if she was being honest with herself, she didn’t want to be alone right now.

“Fine,” Amity said, taking a seat next to her brother. “BUT! You have to make an Everlasting Oath that you WON’T tell Em! Got it?”

The older boy furrowed his eyebrows, but nodded as he held out his hand. “Sure. I don’t need to tell her everything. Let’s hear it!”

Amity raised her hand and took her brothers, forming a violet circle around them before shaking. When she let go, Ed shivered and rubbed his hand. “Man. Never gonna get used to that feeling.”

Sighing, Amity looked down, avoiding her brother's gaze. “Luz...Luz has a crush on Em. And she’s gonna tell her about it tomorrow. Which...which I hate because I...I REALLY LIKE LUZ AND CAN’T STAND THE IDEA OF HER WITH EM!” 

Amity raised a hand to her mouth in sheer horror. She’d never have thought in a million years she’d be confessing this to Ed. Not in a billion! Yet she was, and she couldn’t help but wish she could take it back. Eyes bugging out of her head, Amity looked back at her brother, his own eyes wide in surprise.

Then, he let out a long, humor filled laugh. 

“OH! OH WOW! LUZ AND-AND EM! HA!”

He threw his head back as Amity glared at him. “I MEAN, IF WE’RE JUST BEING HONEST, THE SUPERIOR BLIGHT SIBLING IS….” As he slowed down, he turned to see the anger and pain and sadness on his sisters face. “Well...they’re sitting right next to me.”

Amity rolled her eyes. “Titan, I must look as pathetic as I feel…” throwing her face into her hands, she sighed. “Just get some stupid blackmail material and leave. Please.”

Edric looked away from his sister, biting his lip. “Well, jeez, sis. I’d love to, but...well, I left my Scroll in another room, so…”

“Ed, I can see it clearly in your pocket.” 

Edric blushed sheepishly before pulling out his scroll. “Huh. So it is...” Then, without warning, he threw it, hard and fast, out of Amity’s doorway. “Well, now my scrolls...just...outta reach…” Edric stretched as far as he could, pretending to try and reach his Scroll. “I...I can’t.” Dramatically acting faint, he threw himself onto the bed and sighed. “Oh well,” he said, scrambling back onto the edge of the bed. “So...what now?”

Amity furrowed her eyebrows. “What now...what?”

Edric shrugged. “Well, I mean...are ya gonna tell Luz? Maybe try to see if maybe she’d wanna go out with you in-”

“NO,” Amity shouted, a light tremor in her voice. “I mean...no. I wish I could, but, if I did…” Amity sighed. “If I did, I KNOW Luz wouldn’t do it. She wouldn’t go through with any of her plans. Just because she didn’t want to hurt me.”

“Annnnnnnnnd that’s a bad thing, because?” Edric asked inquisitively.

Amity looked up at her brother, determined to make this as clear to him as possible. “If it means Luz isn’t happy, then yes. Yes it is.” 

Edric stared at his little sister for a moment, almost as if he was seeing a ghost. Then, a small smirk crossed his face. “Well I’ll be, Mittens. You’ve grown to be a better witch than me, huh?” He tousled her hair, letting out a small laugh. “If some guy I liked fell for Em, I’d kill her myself.” Throwing himself off the bed, he turned to his sister, a caring gleam crossing his eyes. “Just remember sis. You deserve to be happy too.” He patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t forget that, okay?”

Amity nodded slightly. “Excellent,” Edric declared with a smirk. “I’ll see ya at dinner tonight!” Edric turned, then slapped his forehead and turned back around. “Oh, and before I forget! The reason I came in the first place!” Turning back to Amity, Edric smirked. “Bump called me and Em to talk about your cutting class. Don’t worry, he said. He’ll let it slide this once, just for his top student.” With a wink, Ed walked out into the hall, picking up his Scroll. “Dang,” he muttered, “I cracked it…” Letting out an exasperated sigh, he turned to his sister one last time. “Don’t say I never did anything for ya, Mittens, okay?” He strolled away, typing at his Scroll while he walked.

Amity sighed and flopped back onto the bed. What Ed had said had been...sweet. But as she remembered what Luz had asked from her tomorrow, Amity knew, from the depths of her bile sac…

_I am so dead._

—————————————————————————

Standing before the gymnasium’s door, Amity could feel her heart pounding, the sound of each beat echoing in her ears. In her hands, she fidgeted with the Grom tiara, rubbing the central gem with her thumbs, savoring her last moments with it being completely, unabashedly hers. 

_Well, Blight,_ she thought to herself, _last chance to turn back…_

But as Amity knew from the start, turning back was never an option for her.

Taking a deep, shaking breath, Amity finally, after what felt like eons, stepped inside the gym doors.

Looking around, it didn’t look too extravagant. In fact, all the planned decorations weren’t meant to show up until Em actually showed up. From there, Gus had swore on the grave of his illusion selves that he would turn the old gym into an extravagant dancehall, complete with a large chandelier shining lights, just for Luz and Em. But for now, it looked as much like the sad little gym it always was…

“Ami,” Luz shouted, jumping off the stage and waving her arms around as if she wasn’t immediately visible to Amity. Looking, she saw that Luz had chosen to change from her standard uniform into her Grom attire, complete with adorable tutu and her own Grom tiara. The green haired witch gulped, hoping Luz’s obliviousness was still as present as ever while her palms sweated bullets onto her tiara.

“He-here, Luz,” Amity was able to get out, raising her hand up to her fellow former Grom Queen. “I got the tiara.”

Luz’s eyes widened and her lip quivered as she plucked the headwear from her fellow Grom Queen, sliding it inside her tuxedo. “Amity...thank you so, so, SO much for this!” She threw her arms around the witch, squeezing her tightly enough to make Amity wonder if she could die then and there from a sudden heart attack from an overload of adorableness. She raised her arms to wrap around Luz as she glanced at the stage. Gus and Skara were setting up some big amps, though by the looks of things they were also talking about a romance novel together, or something else cute and fluffy. Willow, meanwhile, only looked on, a frown present on her face, staring at her two best friends before shaking her head and turning to the bass slung over her shoulders, strumming the strings lightly.

Also, she realized, they were ALL in their Grom outfits.

_Must have been an idea from yesterday,_ she thought to herself. _And here I am in my dumb uniform..._

Luz let go of Amity and smiled at her friend, the sort of smile that made her want to kiss her lips and hold the brunette in her arms for all eternity as she whispered sweet nothings into her ear. The sort of smile that killed Amity every time she saw it and remembered that it wasn’t nearly as important to Luz as it was to Amity.

That had to be the worst part about all this; the fact that Luz was just. So. KIND! No matter what Luz did, no matter how badly she hurt Amity with her crush, she never did anything because she wanted the witch to suffer. Amity wasn’t lovestruck enough to call her a literal angel who did nothing wrong; Luz was still a troublemaker who’d break into a library or a school and, in her darkest moments, steal a training wand. But she never did anything to hurt anyone. She never wanted that. If Luz had her way, everyone who wasn’t a terrible person would be as happy as she clearly was. 

It was what made Amity fall for her. And worse, what made her still, even when she knew she didn’t feel even remotely the same way, hold out some small, miniscule hope that Luz maybe, potentially, could fall for her one day…

“You’ve been so supportive of me throughout this. I gotta admit, I wasn’t expecting it.” Luz rubbed the back of her neck, blushing lightly. “I know it’ll be weird, me dating your sister…”

_For a variety of reasons,_ Amity deadpanned in her mind.

“But I really, truly appreciate all your help. And hey, that spaghetti and serenading idea for your crush? Still on the table.” Luz winked, a playful smirk crossing her lips. If Amity didn’t know any better, she might have thought Luz was flirting with her. The idea made Amity turn completely scarlet, and she turned to face away from the beautiful human, hoping not to make her suspicious this close to her big move.

“Thank you, Luz. I...I might consider it…” Amity started to walk to the stage, jumping onto it and walking up to Skara. “Hey, uh...can I get myself a bass or piano or…”

Skara nodded. “Got just the right instrument for ya, right here!” With a twirl of her fingers, Skara produced a small, rectangular item in Amity’s hand. Staring down at it for a moment, she realized what exactly she was holding.

“A...harmonica?”

Skara nodded. “Yeah! Thought you’d work well with it.”

Amity just shook her head, dumbfounded and confused. _What song requires a harmonica?_

_Probably one Luz would love…_

Looking up, she saw Luz pulling herself atop the stage, wiping herself as she stood up. “Right, ladies and Gus! It’s 2:58, so Em should be here soon! Hit the lights, get into position, and let’s DO THIS!”

Skara and Gus high-fived, smiling as Gus took a seat in front of a Skara produced piano (equipped with a tiny triangle dangling above it), while Skara herself produced a large, monstrous looking tuba. Luz, meanwhile, threw her ukulele strap over her shoulder and turned from the stage, jumping from the ball of one foot to another.

_Just another difference between me and Luz,_ Amity thought silently. _When I’m nervous, I’m a Conformatorium escapee; jittery, panicky, a completely obvious wreck. But when Luz is nervous, she’s just...she’s just adorable!_

Amity turned to the front door, clutching her harmonica tightly. Even if she didn’t like any of this, she would do it for the girl of her dreams.

3 came.

Then 3:05.

Then 3:10.

By 3: 15, the group was clearly getting antsy. Everyone eyed each other, all asking themselves the same question: Where on the Boiling Isles was Em?

“I’m sure she just...got lost,” Willow said, so blatantly disbelieving the idea that even Luz didn’t believe her, shaking her head solemnly.

“Uh, traffic,” offered Gus. “It’s this human thing where a bunch of metal demons come together to scream at each other and-”

Amity could tell that Luz’s optimism, usually unending, was beginning to fade. Her face had dropped, her arms were beginning to go slack and…

_Are those tears_ , Amity thought, squinting hard at Luz’s eyes. Trying very badly not to get lost in them as she always did, Amity realized that, yes, indeed, tears were starting to form in Luz’s eyes.

_Oh, Em is SO, SO DEAD!_

“I’m sure she’s in the school,” Amity said, and she jumped off the stage. “I’ll go find her. Don’t worry, ok, Luz?” The human nodded, and turned to give a faint, tiny, but genuine smile to Amity.

“Thanks buddy. That means a lot.”

Amity could practically hear every shard of her heart somehow shatter even further.

“Yeah...that’s what friends do.”

Turning from Luz, Amity walked out of the gym. When she did, she felt herself trying to contain her rage at Em.

And failing miserably.

“EM! OH EMMMMMMMMMMMMMM,” Amity called out, her voice very loud. “WHERE ARE YOU! GET OUT HERE NOW!” 

Amity wandered the halls of Hexside, empty save for the occasional student with nowhere to go or teacher grading papers. She couldn’t BELIEVE Em. It was one thing to be a teasing jerk, but to ditch Luz? Even if she did only think it was a tutoring session, it was still a terrible way to treat her friend. There was no way Amity would let her forget about this.

As she turned a corner, she spotted not Em, but Ed, appearing to casually stroll down the hall. So casually, in fact, it made Amity suspicious. Slinking behind the lockers, she peaked around the corner to spot her brother glance to the opposite end of the hall before walking up to one of the lockers. Amity squinted, uncertain what was going on. _That’s not his,_ she thought to herself.

Then, she watched as her brother ripped the locker open, opening it like a door. Amity stood stunned as her brother snuck inside before closing the locker behind him. _Ok...what?_

Jogging over to the locker her brother had just walked into, Amity tried opening it the same way he had, digging her fingers into its side and pulling hard. Surprisingly, it opened, and Amity stood, amazed, as the locker swung open to reveal a short hallway. Stepping inside, only mildly worried for her safety, she walked through the entryway and into a room she’d never seen before. “Oh, wow,” she muttered to herself, looking about the room.

The room was like a spiral tower, with a large collection of doors of all shapes and sizes, all placed haphazardly, with little rhyme or reason, along with windows that made just as little sense. It was enough to make Amity’s head spin. _What IS this place,_ she asked herself, before looking down at the floor. There, she spotted her brother, laughing alongside a strange animal in a Hexside uniform, two other students, and

_Emira._

“HEY,” Amity shouted down before rushing down the railing. The group all looked up at her, all seemingly surprised at the intrusion. “EM, WHAT IS THIS?”

“Oh, hey Mittens,” she said, waving up at her sister. “Uh, how’d you find us, exactly?”

“Em just showed me this place,” Edric said, clearly giddy and somehow already filled with two apparent empty cans of Mountain Doom. “It’s got secret passageways and cool little nooks and crannies! This would be so cool for pranks and-”

“NEVERMIND THAT,” Amity shouted. She didn’t have to at this point, but it didn’t matter to her. She was still livid and angry at Em, it was a testament to her self control that her older sister wasn’t buried under a pile of purple goop. “YOU TOLD LUZ YOU WERE GOING TO...TO HELP HER IN THE GYM AND YOU’VE JUST BEEN SITTING HERE? WITH EDRIC AND...AND...” Turning away from her sister for a moment, she admitted “Not to be rude, but I know absolutely none of your names.”

The strange animal let out a small “BARK,” while one of the students, a tall, skinny boy took a long sip from a can of Doom. “The furballs Barcus,” the boy stated. “And I’m Jerbo. And the girl with the fashion sense that gets you hooked is Viney.”

The pale girl, whom Amity now noticed had a fishhook for an earring, rolled her eyes, then smiled at Amity. “Yeah, that’s me. And you, Mittens, must be Em’s little sister she talks so much about.” 

Amity glared at Em, as close to shooting daggers at her sister as she could without actually using a spell for it (Amity didn’t know if one existed, but she was sure she could figure something out.) “Yes. I am. In fact, I’m actually here to see her. See, she’s supposed to be helping our friend Luz and-”

Emira slapped her forehead. “Oh cramity! That was today? I’m so sorry! I completely forgot!”

“Oh, Luz,” Viney asked, raising an eyebrow. “So THAT’S why she couldn’t make Friday Funday. Lame.” She sighed. “Oh well. I’d come along, but I know about as much about illusion magic as Jerbo knows about abominations!” She winked at her friend, who was now the owner rolling his eyes. 

“Ok, so I blew up my last abomination with a flower! How was I supposed to know whatever that goop is doesn’t do well when roots start getting inside them?”

Amity shook her head. “That’s pretty basic knowledge, actually…”

Jerbo blushed again and slumped down. “Well, excuse me for not being the star student…”

“Yeah,” Amity grumbled, wanting to get out of here as soon as possible. “Em, you leaving with me?”

“Yeah,” she said, getting up with a stretch. “Don’t wanna leave Luz waiting much longer.” 

Barcus let out a happy little bark as Jerbo smiled. “Yeah, tell her The Troublemakers say hey. And she’s still invited to tonight’s Funday when she’s done.” 

“And next Troublemakers Tuesday,” Viney added.

“And Wild Wednesday,” Edric added.

“That’s not a thing,” Jerbo pointed out, Barcus giving a little nod. 

“Well, it should be,” Edric declared, reaching for another can, a smile on his lips. “Man, why didn’t I hear about this place sooner?”

Amity ignored her sugar high brother and, grabbing Em’s hand with a growl, stomped to the nearest door. 

“Er, bye Viney,” Em shouted, waving at the girl with a small smile on her face. Amity, meanwhile, shoved the door so hard it almost flew off the hinges. It opened up, somehow, from a girls bathroom stall, and a particularly surprised one eyed, crescent faced (literally) Oracle girl looked up in surprise. Dragging her sister by the hand like a child, Amity could feel her face growing hotter and hotter.

_I spend a whole WEEK helping Luz try to woo my sister, trying to plan out this stupid but lovely gesture, and here SHE is, hanging out with troublemakers when she should be with Luz? If this works, I PROMISE you Em, I will NEVER let you live this down._

“Hey, Mittens,” Em said, pulling away and rubbing the back of her neck. “I...I kinda wanted to grab another Mountain Doom for myself. I can bring one for Luz too if she’d-“

“Fine,” Amity spat out with an amount of venom that impressed and somewhat frightened even her own angry self. “Just get your stupid soda. We’ll meet you in the gym.”

Em looked genuinely surprised at her sister's anger, but merely nodded. “Cool. Thanks Mittens.” She turned back to the stall and entered, closing the door behind her, though she seemed to not really enter the stall. At that moment though, Amity didn’t care. All she cared about was getting back to the gym. 

Thankfully, the gym was only across the hall, and she could just power walk towards it before getting there in a minute. Looking up at the stage, she saw the group standing with their backs to the stage, clearly hoping to create as dramatic an opening as possible for the two Blight girls.

“Guys,” Amity began with a sigh.

“They're here,” Gus cried out. 

“Showtime,” Skara proclaimed.

Smoke started to fill the stage, enshrouding her friends and making it harder to see them. Then, from the clouds, a voice cried out.

“Emira Blight, I got something I wanna tell you!”

And with that, Skara blew a low note on her tuba, Gus started pressing keys, and Willow began to strum.

Amity wanted to stop them, to tell them that Em wasn’t with her, and that there was no reason for them all to start yet. 

But then she heard Luz singing.

She wasn’t the most trained singer Amity had ever heard. Her mother would drag her and the rest of the Blight household to shows performed by some of the most lovely voiced Bards on the Isles, and while they were all mostly boring affairs regarding traditions and customs so old even Amity’s most in depth textbook didn’t cover (and also boring the rest of the family near-death), she had to admit, they sounds phenomenal. Luz...was not that. But what she clearly had, coursing through every fiber of her being, was what made Luz, well, Luz; her drive, her passion, her warmth and love and energy and spirit. All the sorts of things that made Amity love the girl more and more with each passing second. Even with her eyes closed, she sang with such truth, such determination, that Amity had to wonder if it wasn’t some strange form of human magic that Luz could fit it all inside her.

And so Amity chose to do something selfish. Something she hadn’t tried to do the entire week, but she had the right to do.

She simply leaned against the door, closed her eyes, and listened to the girl of her dreams sing, and pretended it was her she was singing for. 

She didn’t pay attention to the words, more just the sound of Luz’s voice, so boisterous and wonders and adorable and sweet and-

“So, she’s finally confessing, huh?”

Amity’s eyes turned to globes as she whipped around to her sister, holding a can of Mountain Doom in her left hand, a playful smile on her lips. Emira turned to look down at her sibling and dug out from her pocket another can of the infernal soda. “Mountain Doom?”

Amity turned to the stage, a scowl crossing her lips. _Thanks Em_ , she growled in her head, ignoring her sisters soda.

The older Blight merely shrugged and took a sip, smirking as she watched Luz and her other friends on stage. For a moment, Amity was able to forget her sister was there, and she could just lay herself back on the wall and listen…

“I’m surprised you’re so calm, Mittens. Thought you’d be a completely sputtering mess right now.”

Amity opened an eye, glaring at Emira. “What are you talking about?”

“Well, isn’t Luz confessing how much she likes you,” Emira teased. “I’m surprised you haven’t passed out at this point.”

For a second, Amity didn’t process what Em was saying. And then, it hit her; Em had missed Luz’s little opening and didn’t realize this was for her.

“Em...I’m not the one Luz is confessing to.”

Emira raised an eyebrow, confused. Then, realization dawned on her.

Amity didn’t know how she had expected her sister to react to Luz’s feelings. She’d imagined almost every scenario under the sun; ones where she was amused and laughed, ones where she was touched and flattered, and even the worst ones, where she mocked Luz’s feelings and just walked away.

But she’d never imagined she’d look almost horrified.

“Oh...ohhhhhhhh”

“OH YEAH,” Luz cried out, breaking the two girls out of their brief haze. They watched as an overly excited Luz took her ukulele, placed it gently onto the floor of the stage, and threw herself off of it, bellyflop style. The Blight girls rushed to grab her, but it was too late; the human landed with a *THUD* onto the gym floor. The look of shock and pain on her face implied that this hadn’t been a part of her plan.

“LUZ,” Willow shouted, rushing to the stage's edge. “I thought we agreed we weren’t doing the stage dive!”

“I was gonna ask Amity about making a crowd of abominations and...OH! So THAT’S what I forgot to do today!” Slapping her forehead, Luz sighed. “Arg!” 

Amity and Emira rushed over, grabbing Luz gently by her hands and lifting her to her feet as she winced in pain. “Luz,” Emira asked frantically, “are you hurt?”

“Only my pride.” She let out a short laugh before taking in a sharp breath. “Oh, and my ribs. Definitely my ribs.” Before the others could say anything, Luz started to reach into her tuxedo. “Well, I know that was sorta embarrassing, but I hope THIS makes it a little less so.” Then, holding it up to Emira, Luz produced Amity’s Grom tiara. “Em, I know we aren’t the best of friends, but...but I really like you a lot, and I was wondering if...if you’d…”

Amity looked up at her sister, that same horrified look on her face as before. “Luz, listen. I’m flattered, really. This, this whole concert and dressing up and the tiaras, it’s so cute! No girls have done anything like this for me! I’m BEYOND flattered!” Despite her words, the rushing, almost panicked voice seemed to suggest something else.

“REALLY,” Luz said. Apparently she hadn’t caught the panic in Emira’s voice. Her eyes sparkled with hope, her smile grew from ear to ear, and she began to bounce from one ball of her foot to another. “I can’t believe it! Gus, get the ballroom ready!”

“The what,” Emira asked, her eyes somehow bulging more at the girl's words. Gus, smirking, began to twirl his fingers, and the gym soon transformed into an elaborate, ornate golden ballroom, complete with a chandelier swinging above their heads. It looked like the sort of thing out of a fairytale, or an adaptation of one. 

Luz, standing with an heir of confidence, put one foot back, held out her hand, and began: “Well then, if that's settled, may I have this da-”

“LUZ, I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND!”

The atmosphere of the room changed. Literally somewhat, as Gus, surprised, stopped casting his illusion, the ballroom fading back into the gym. Amity’s eyes darted around, trying to see how everyone was reacting. Skara stopped playing her tuba and looked up in surprise. Willow's eyes darted between Luz and Amity, as if she was trying to figure out which one would require comfort the most. 

Then Amity looked at Luz and her heart sank.

The greatest thing in Amity’s life looked as if she had just witnessed the death of her beloved childhood pet. Her usually wide and cheerful eyes were now wide and hurt, shocked even. Her hand fell to her side. Her mouth opened in a small “wha-what?”

Amity had never hated her sister more in her life.

Amity wanted to strangle Em. How DARE she do this to Luz? How DARE she hurt her like this, break her heart! Sure, it obviously wasn’t intentional, but that didn’t make Amity hate her sister any less. Who even WAS this witch?

The answer to that came with the help of a falling Edric.

The male Blight twin first made his presence known from his screams, followed by the impact of his facedown body on the gym floor. For a brief moment, most of the gym forgot about Emira and Luz as Edric scampered upwards and rushed to his younger sister.

“Mittens, you gotta stop Luz,” he shouted, shaking her shoulders furiously. “Em has a…” His voice trailed off as he looked around. “I’m...late, aren’t I?”

Emira pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. “By about twenty seconds.”

As Ed blushed, a rope ladder unfolded where he had fallen, and the fish-hook earring girl, Viney Amity remembered, came climbing down. Setting foot to the gym floor, she turned to Luz and gave an awkward, rather uncomfortable smile. “Er, hey, Luz. Ed let slip your whole plan with Em...uhm…”

Luz looked from Viney, then back to Em. Then from Em to Viney. Then back again, then one more time, before it finally seemed to click. 

“Wait…” she said, looking up at Emira, “You and...and Viney?”

“Er, yeah, actually,” Emira admitted almost guiltily. Viney walked over to Emira, stepping next to her girlfriend and nodded. “We haven’t told a lot of people about it because my parents...but still…” she sighed. “Luz, I’m so sorry, I didn’t want to hurt you. I didn’t know you.. I mean I kinda assumed that-”

“WHAAAAA,” Luz interrupted, cutting her off. “HA, that’s funny, Em. You’re ok, ya didn’t hurt me, honest. I mean, honestly, I’m a bit surprised, I mean, you and Viney? But hey, look at you two, just FULL of surprises!” She laughed the most inauthentic laugh Amity had ever heard her give, almost like it wasn’t coming from Luz’s mouth, and gave the most false smile Amity had ever seen.

“Er, yeah,” Emira muttered. Amity had never seen her smug, confident sister so clearly embarrassed. It would have actually been hilarious if it wasn’t such a gut punch. “Well...I’m still sorry, Luz. I think we should probably head out.”

“Yeah, makes sense,” Luz exclaimed, her smile faltering. “I guess you two should probably just head out…”

Emira nodded. “See ya around cu- Luz.”

Viney, Edric, and Emira grabbed a hold of the ladder and started climbing their way back up to their hideout. As they did, Emira looked at her little sister, an expression on her face that Amity had never really seen before.

An expression of asking for forgiveness.

Luz, meanwhile, walked up to the stage, the false enthusiasm clearly wearing off of her. Pulling herself up by the ledge, her eyes downcast as she walked past her friends, unable to meet their gaze.

“Luz,” Skara asked, her voice uncharacteristically quiet, “you ok, girl?”

For a second, Luz did nothing. Then, she simply sighed and walked backstage.

Willow looked down at Amity, and both girls knew they needed to help.

“Guys, I think me and Amity should take this one. Maybe you two can find something to cheer Luz up with?”

Skara and Gus nodded, Skara making all the instruments disappear as Gus began walking out the door. Then, with some help from Willow, Amity was atop the stage, and the two girls walked backstage.

Luz was sitting atop a small pile of sandbags, looking at Amity’s tiara with a far off, tired look on her face. She didn’t seem to notice either girl until Willow cleared her throat, making her look up.

“Wha-oh, hey guys,” Luz said, pocketing the tiara. “Crazy time, huh?”

“Luz,” Willow asked, “you doing ok?”

Luz began to nod, almost a little too enthusiastically, almost as if she was banging it to some unheard music. “Oh, totally! Completely! I mean, sure, I just wasted all your guy’s week on a petty pipe dream that turns out didn’t even have a chance of happening, but…but I’m fine.”

The two girls sat on either side of their heartbroken friend, rubbing her back. “Luz,” Amity began, “you know you can tell us the truth, ri-”

Amity was cut off by a near rib-shattering hug from Luz, the human burying her head into the witch's chest as she began to sob. 

“It’s...I knew it was a long shot,” Luz cried, “but I never thought it would end like this.”

Amity wrapped her arms around Luz, holding her close and stroking her hair. “It’s-it’s ok Luz. We’re here for you, just let it out.”

“Why didn’t I just ask her out at Grom?”

Amity froze.

“Maybe if I hadn’t been such a coward none of this would be happening.”

“No, no,” Willow said, patting Luz’s back but looking up at Amity. “You’re not a coward. You just-”

“Why did it have to be her,” Luz continued, ignoring Willow’s pleading. “I-is it because she’s cuter?”

_Shut up Luz…_

“Funnier?”

_Luz please shut up._

“Better?”

_LUZPLEASESHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPILOVEYOUSOMUCHBUTPLEASE-_

“NO,” Willow exclaimed, wrapping her arms around the two girls. “No, no,” she continued, soothingly. “That’s not it at all.” 

She looked Amity dead in the eyes.

“Not at all.”

Luz continued to sob as Willow squeezed her friends together and Amity tried to hide her rapidly beating heart from the most amazing woman in the world. Finally, after about 15 minutes, Luz finally seemed to have been out of tears. Pulling away from Amity, she sniffed and rubbed her eyes. “I’m so sorry guys,” she said. “You shouldn’t have to be here comforting me.”

“But we wanted to,” Amity reassured her. The school uniform Amity took pride in keeping clean had its top soaked in tears, but she didn’t care. All she wanted to do was help Luz be ok.

Luz just shook her head. “I think I just wanna be alone for a minute,” she said softly. Both her friends looked up at each other with concern, but nodded. With one last hug, Amity walked away from her heartbroken crush.

It wasn’t until Willow and Amity were outside the school that Amity realized she never got her tiara back.

____________________________________________________________

Amity lay on her windowsill, looking up at the bright moon. After she and Willow had gone their separate ways, Amity had magically locked herself in her room and just sat there, save for the brief, forced interruption of dinner, where she had refused to either say anything or look at her sister. All she wanted was to just lay there. Forget everything about today…

“Mittens,” her sister whispered through the doorway. “Can we talk, please?”

“Go away,” Amity growled out. The last thing she wanted to do was talk to the woman who broke Luz’s heart.

“Look, sis, I didn’t know anything about Luz’s crush, ok? I didn’t want to steal her away from you or-”

“Oh,” Amity snapped. “Then what was with all that flirting? Calling her cutie, the winking-”

“Mittens, I never realized she’d take it seriously! I just always act that way with friends and-”

“Oh, so you ALWAYS do that,” Amity snarled, jumping off her ledge and stomping toward her door. “So when you do it with Viney, it’s nothing?”

“Mittens,” Emira let out, clearly getting annoyed, “I’m sorry. I didn’t think Luz liked me. I thought she liked you!”

“Oh, why would you think that,” Amity shouted, unable to contain her anger. “Because we danced together at Grom? Because she was my ‘fearless champion’? Because she’s always done everything to help me?” Amity was visibly shaking, she could tell, but she couldn’t hold anything back. “WELL TOO BAD! BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS DO! THEY DANCE AND THEY SACRIFICE AND THEY HELP ONLY BECAUSE THEY CARE, ONLY BECAUSE THEY WANT TO BE NICE!”

“Mittens…”

“AND THEY HOLD YOU WHEN YOU’RE SOBBING BECAUSE YOUR CRUSH HAS A GIRLFRIEND!”

“Sis.”

“AND THEY...AND THEY HELP YOU, DOING EVERYTHING THEY CAN TO MAKE THE CONFESSION TO THEIR SISTER AS WONDERFUL AS POSSIBLE SO THEY CAN BE HAPPY, EVEN IF IT BREAKS YOUR HEART EVERY TIME YOU THINK ABOUT IT AND-”

“AMITY!”

Emira threw herself so hard into the door that even with Amity magically locking it, it slammed into the back wall. Immediately, she clutched her little sister to her chest, and it was at this moment Amity realized she was crying. Emira stroked her sister's hair, whispering to her softly, trying to be as reassuring as possible, but all Amity could do was continue to sob. Even when her brother came in to hold her too, all she could do was cry.

Why did Luz like Emira?

Why did she have to like her sister?

Why couldn’t she like her?

Why was she born the wrong Blight?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that ending, huh?
> 
> I feel the need to remind you I promise a happy ending, so please don't kill me.
> 
> I also feel the need to mention this first: I'm now part of a Discord channel! "The Good Witch Society" Discord, to be exact. There we play games, talk about TOH, write fanfics, and generally just be huge fun-loving dorks. There's plenty of awesome creators there too, including the one and only QuirkQuartz, the writer of "A Valeween Night to Remember." Here's the link if you would like to ever join us: https://discord.gg/FmMeC8v8
> 
> Speaking of which, huge thanks to the awesome mod, Kai, and the other Beta readers who's hearts I ripped out with this fic first, including Cynthia, Ellie, and Aden. You can meet these lovely people and many more, again, in the Good Witch Society Discord Server.
> 
> Now, for some sneak peeks: The next chapter will follow Luz, and focus both on what made her like Emira, and the aftermath of her confession. I won't try to spoil too much more, but I do hope it isn't nearly as long as this. Still, here is a sneak preview:  
> \------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
> As Luz finished flipping up the hood of the adorable onesie, she asked herself...just who WAS Amity's type, anyway? She tried to imagine the kind of person the green-haired witch would go for, who she would have wanted to ask to Grom? She pondered the question, sticking her tongue out in intense thought. But there was only one type she could really imagine Amity with.
> 
> She's practically a princess, with her beautiful dress and big-name and kinda stuffy attitude, right, Luz thought. Maybe she'd want a prince?
> 
> Luz could imagine, some handsome young man, clad in shining armor and a charming smile, carrying a swooning Amity in his arms away from an exploding tower (why the tower was exploding Luz didn't know. She just thought it looked cool.)
> 
> Eh, they'd be cute, she thought, but not really MY type I suppose.
> 
> Luz didn't like the prince or princess charming types that much. She preferred the BAD ones. Well, ok, bad was the wrong word for it. She'd never date a bully, after all. Perhaps the better word she was looking for was...misunderstood. The type of person who was cold and distant at first, who might be aloof and mysterious, but, as you got to know them, showed that they were just lovable goofballs all along, just with tragic pasts and terrible parents.
> 
> Heh...sorta like Amity, she thought.  
> \------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
> Also, I want you all to know that I am not abandoning Fearless Champions. I'm sorry it's been so long. I plan on updating it soon, however. I do have most of the next portion written. I just need to finish it. As another treat, here's a brief exchange from it for you all to see.  
> \------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
> LUZ (CON'T): I was just curious about who this mysterious crush was. If they're someone who, say, I knew, maybe? 
> 
> AMITY:Maaaybe you know them a bit.
> 
> LUZ: REALLY? I mean, who are they?
> 
> AMITY: Well, If you really wanna know. (DEEP BREATHE) They're...they're amazing.
> 
> LUZ: I'll bet. I mean, if you like them. They're probably really cute, huh?
> 
> AMITY: Well, heh, yeah. But it's more than that. They're just, just so kind and amazing and wonderful and, and-
> 
> Luz turns from Amity, hiding the HURT on her face by pretending to be interested in the WALL PAINTINGS.
> 
> LUZ: And handsome.
> 
> AMITY: Yeah. She is.  
> \------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
> Sorry about the terrible formatting. AO3 is terrible with it so I'll still be posting it as a Scribd with a link in the chapter.
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed.If you did, please leave a kudos. If you really liked it, a comment can always make my day. If you SUPER like it, subscribing would be amazing! And if you wanna meet me and a bunch of other awesome TOH fans and creators, remember to check out the Good Witch Society Discord server. Thank you all for reading, and I'll see you all next time.


	2. Falling for a Blight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At Grom, Luz falls hard for a Blight girl…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY (belated) FIRST ANNIVERSARY TO TOH! TO CELEBRATE, HERE'S A BELATED CHAPTER OF A SAD, ANGSTY FIC ALONG WITH A HEARTBREAKING SNEAK PEEK AT THE NEXT CHAPTER AT THE END!!!

It had been Grom when Luz fell for a Blight.

“Dang,” Luz said, shuffling through the Grom photos of her and her friends as they left the booth, the camera waving back at them with its large iris opened in excitement. “We all look GOOD.”

Willow giggled as Gus gave himself a high five. “You know it,” the youngest of the group declared confidently. “I mean, I always do, but thank you.”

Amity, meanwhile, looked through her own pictures, seemingly lost in thought. “Heh, yeah. I suppose we do.” 

Luz stopped and turned back to the group, grining. “Alright, guys, gals, and witch pals, this little Grom Queen needs to run to the little witch’s room real quick! But I promise, I’ll be back, ready to help you all ROCK this shindig! And looking…lets just say, ‘otterly’ adorable while doing it?” She winked, the sort of wink meant to tell her friends ‘Yeah, I’m going there.”

Willow and Gus raised their eyebrows. Amity, meanwhile, merely continued walking with her eyes on her pictures. Sadly, she continued to walk past them all until…

_SMACK!_ Luz looked to see that Amity ran into a pair of students dancing, causing all three to stumble and trip themselves onto the floor. As Luz ran up to help, she could see the matching Hexside jerseys, meaning it was Skara and her date, a bat boy named… Luz couldn’t exactly recall if she’d ever heard it before, honestly. Beastkeeping Bat Boy? Probably wasn’t it, but it would do.

“Oh, uh, sorry,” Amity sputtered out, grabbing the photo’s that flew from her hand before the two reacted.

“OOOOH, AMITY,” Skara squealed, pulling the green haired witch into a hug. “You beating Grom was TOTALLY the single coolest thing I’ve ever seen! Never thought you could dance like that! You gotta show those moves off more often!”

“Uhm, thanks,” Amity muttered, turning to see Luz coming up behind her. “I had a really good partner, though,” she said. 

Luz held out her hand to Amity. “Better watch where ya going there Blight,” she said. “First me, now Skara? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were trying to steal our principles title of ‘Bump.’”

Amity narrowed her eyes, then widened them as Luz’s pun dawned on her. “Ugh,” Amity said, rolling her eyes. “That was literally the worst thing I have ever heard.” Taking Luz’s hand, she chuckled, “I mean, I’d take Noceda WAY before I took Bump.” 

Luz raised an eyebrow as Amity blushed a deep, deep crimson. “I mean, just because it’s a dumb name. Bump, I mean. Noceda’s fine I guess, just-”

Luz bit her lip at Amity’s ramblings. _She must be really embarrassed, huh,_ Luz thought, _having to get my help twice in one night and being so clumsy. No wonder she’s not making sense._

“HEY,” Bat Boy shouted. “Watch where you’re going. Me and my date were having a perfectly lovely dance then YOU had to ruin it by being a klutz.”

“Eh, leave her alone,” Skara said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Amity’s probably tired. Had a long night, probably a bit tired. Probably just spaced a bit. Let her through and-”

“Nah, don’t think I will,” Bat Boy hissed. “You and your little ‘friend’ aren’t gonna push me around!”

“Oh Titan,” Skara muttered, rubbing her eyes with her fingers in frustration. “I need to talk with my dates before saying ‘Sure’...” 

Amity glared at Bat Boy before growling “I am very sorry I ran into you. Now please let me pass, and I’ll-” 

“You’ll what,” he snarled. “Sick your human on me?”

“HEY,” Luz interjected, pointing her finger at him and stabbing him repeatedly with it. “I’ll have you know Amity is an awesome girl who can fight her own battles! Which, admittedly, I am not making very clear right now by interjecting, but-”

“Alright, alright, you dumb kids,” a familiar, motherly-yet-also-very-’I-teach-the-babies-to-swear’” aunt sounding voice called. “What seems to be the problem here?”

Coming up from behind Luz, Eda sauntered over, crossing her arms and glaring down at Bat Boy with the contempt of a mother who’d just heard a bully insult their child. For a moment, he looked nervous. Then he straightened himself out and coughed.

“Ugh, yeah, actually,” he declared. “This loser just tried to get between me and my girl and-”

“Alright, alright,” Eda interrupted, her voice dripping with her signature ‘I really don't care’ attitude. “I know what to do here.” She put two fingers into her mouth and whistled. “Yo, Owlbert,” she called, “Get this kid a one-way ticket back to whatever cave he crawled out of!”

Bat Boy grinned, then his face fell in confusion. “Wait, he?”

Owlbert burst through a window before swooping below Bat Boy. He cried out as the Palisman flipped, spun in circles, and did loops before crashing through another window. Luz looked up at her mentor with a quizzical look. “Uh, aren’t you gonna have to pay for those?”

Eda shrugged. “Eh, can probably get Lilly to flip the bill somehow.” She cackled. “So, you kids gonna go back to dancing, or?”

“Oh,” Luz cried. In the commotion, she’d completely forgotten all about her surprise. “Uhm, I was actually gonna go get something.”

“I thought you were going to the bathroom,” Willow said, confused.

“Ugh, I am,” Luz stated. “I just….the thing I’m getting is actually IN the bathroom.”

Willow furrowed her brow. “That sounds…”

“Oh, let the kid live a little,” Eda said. “Some of my best discoveries were in a bathroom. Did I ever tell you all about how I found Hooty?”

“I thought you said ‘best’” Amity deadpanned.

“I know. I didn’t find Hooty in a bathroom, but I did find myself in one. Now THERE’S a story.” She cackled again, then ruffled Luz’s hair. “Alright. Get whatever you need from the bathroom, but come right back, K? I wanna see this surprise.”

“Oh, and uhm, Luz,” Amity began. She rubbed her arm and looked away from her, looking alot to Luz like the witch didn’t even want to see the humans face. “I, uh, was hoping to ask you something when you’re back, OK?”

Luz bit her lip and nodded. “Uh, sure. Sounds good to me.”

_She’s probably gonna call off the whole “Going to Grom as friends'' thing,_ she thought. _She’ll ask her crush to dance with her and she’ll leave me for the night. Which is fine, of course. She deserves to be happy and everything. But still…_

Luz spun around and walked away, waving at her friends as she left the gym completely. “Bye guys, see ya in a bit.” As she did, she saw her friends waving back. All except Amity, whose head was turned to look at the opposite side of the gym.

_She must be looking at her crush,_ Luz thought. _Good for her ._

_Whoever he is, they’re probably a really good dancer._

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As she stepped through the bathroom stall and into the strange, impossible world of the Troublemakers hideout, Luz couldn’t help but feel a small chill run up her spine. Even if she knew this place was safe (well, ok, nothing in Hexside was _SAFE_...maybe more ‘secure?’ Or ‘less of a deathtrap?’) it was still a little unnerving entering the large room at night. Who knows what could be lurking behind those doors, waiting to jump out and attack her? Cats with human faces? Internet creeps wanting to debate her? CATS WITH HUMAN FACES THAT WANTED TO-

“GOTCHA,” a voice cried, breaking Luz out of her worried thoughts. She felt bony arms wrap around her neck and her Grom tiara being ripped from her head. Then, she felt knuckles scratching at her slicked back hair, returning it to its more matted, unruly look. Then, with a small bark, something jumped onto her legs. Something small and fluffy and wearing an adorable pair of glasses...

“Jerbo, Barcus,” Luz laughed, breaking from Jerbo’s hold and shaking her leg until Barcus jumped off. “You two sometimes, I swear.” Despite her words sounding annoyed, Luz couldn’t hide her smile at seeing her at least two of the Troublemakers trio. She hasn’t been able to make it to any of their numerous hangouts on account of school and Eda, and none of them had any shared classes, so it was rare she got to see the infamous gang of rabble rousers. While attempting to slick her hair back as it had been, Luz asked “Hey. Where’s Viney?”

“Right here, kid,” another voice called behind her, and the human braces herself for another onslaught against her hair. Which, thankfully, came quickly. “You think just cause you’re Grom queen we aren’t gonna still treat ya like a Troublemaker,” she said, a prideful smirk present even in her voice. 

Luz was able to eventually break free of her friend's hold and turned around, giving her a big hug. “Wouldn’t have it any other way, Vi.” 

The older witch was taken aback for a moment, but eventually hugged Luz too. Eventually, both Jerbo and Barcus joined in, turning it into Luz’s favorite kind of hug; a group one. After a few minutes, though, Viney snorted. 

“Alright, alright,” she chuckled out. “Mush fest is over, let’s give each other a little room to breathe, k?”

Luz was, unsurprisingly, the last one to disperse, hugging Viney until both Jerbo and Barcus had taken a step back. As she did, she finally got a good look at all their outfits; all three, including Barcus, were wearing tuxedos, though the cuffs of both the pants and suites were cut with jagged lines, and their pants had holes in the knees. Aside from the tuxe’s, though, all three looked like the rebellious and wonderful Troublemaker’s Luz had defeated the Basilisk with. 

“Watched the whole thing in Barcus’s cauldron,” Viney said, beaming with pride. “Knew you could do it, Luz. Didn’t doubt it for a second.”

“Neither did I,” Jerbo affirmed. “Barcus had his doubts though.” The doglike witch turned and growled at his friend, making him laugh. “Ok, ok, I kid. Barcus knew you could beat that thing all along.”

Luz twirled and struck a pose, pumping a fist into the air like a rockstar. “Yeah! Didn’t doubt myself either! Not for a second! Well, except for those several seconds I did, but otherwise.”

Jerbo handed her back the tiara, smirking. “Ya know,” he said, “I may hate authority figures, and I may think this whole ‘Grom Queen’ shtick is just a way for Bump to avoid hiring actual trained witches to fight that stupid thing...but I gotta say, the title and tiara work for ya.” Barcus gave what Luz considered an affirmative bark as she placed the crown back on her head.

“Thanks, J-bo.” She giggled, giving him a pair of finger guns and a light clicking sound. “Completely agree with ya too. Totally hate the whole authority thing, but this is just sooooooo cute!!”

Viney chuckled and ruffled Luz’s hair. “Not as cute as your little dance fight. You and that Blight girl kicked that stupid fear demons butt with nothing but the power of friendship and some sick dance moves. Gotta say, pretty impressive.``

Luz blushed and rubbed her arm. “Awww, you’re embarrassing me...go on though!”

“The way you did that plant stuff was so cool,” Jerbo exclaimed, “and using the Abomination like that? I practice for both Covens and even I wouldn’t have thought of that!” He seemed genuinely excited, his voice faster and more energized than usual. “My Abomination goop mostly just turns into...well, goop. Maybe your girlfriend could help me out a bit.”

“Yeah,” Luz answered. “I bet she’d-”

And the his words registered in her brain.

“Er, wait,” Luz said, her blush turning a deeper shade of red, though this time out of a more genuine embarrassment. “Amity and I aren’t dating, guys. We’re just friends.”

“Really,” Jerbo asked, confused. “You two seemed a liiiiitle too good at working together to be ‘just friends,’' putting air quotes around the last words. Barcus gave a small ‘bark’ of agreement and nodded.

“Well…” Luz began.

“Jerbo, give the kid a break,” Viney interrupted. “Luz’s probably just a really good dancer.”

The human breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks Vi-”

“And besides,” she continued, “Blight’s are the worst! Stuck up, elitist losers, all of them.”

Luz suddenly felt her cheeks flare red, and a brief but bright surge of anger. “WHAT? Amity’s not a stuck up elitist loser! She’s a fun, smart, nice once you get to know her girl who’s WAY better than that, and-” She stopped herself as she saw Viney’s face shifting, first looking confused, then changing into a mischievous, sly expression, as if she had just realized something her friend was trying to keep hidden. Luz’s cheeks stayed red, though now from embarrassment more than anything. “Well, I mean, she is. And so are her siblings. They’re all pretty neat. I think her twins are in your grade, actually. You’d probably like them.”

Viney chuckled and shook her head. “Eh, you’re a good kid, but you try too hard to see the best in people. I’ll admit though, I admire the dedication to suppressing your emotions. A wise skill to learn for when you become a cynical young adult.”

Luz just continued to blush. “I’m not…”

“It’s alright,” Jerbo laughed. “Sorry ‘bout us all giving you a hard time, alright? If it helps, we do it with Barcus too whenever they get all lovey-dovey.” The dog glared up at his human friend, but nodded.

Luz decided it was high time to change the subject. “So, Viney,” she croaked out, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible, “did you bring the outfit like I asked?”

The older girl nodded and, with a spin of her fingers, summoned from thin air the outfit Luz had WANTED to wear to Grom: her otter (with a dark side) onesie. Both her and Viney smiled as she handed it to her. “You really are weird, Luz. But, like, a good weird, not ‘imagining everybody in their underwear’ weird,” she said.

“Thanks a million,” Luz replied, holding the onesie to her chest like it was the oldest friend she ever had.

“You SURE you don’t wanna stay for Anti-Grom,” Viney asked. “I mean, we’ve got Apple Blood.”

“And WAY better snacks,” Jerbo replied, pointing to a small table of refreshments stacked with things that, like a lot of things on the Boiling Isles, looked like a normal thing, but with eyeballs; in this case, chips.

Barcus let out a small yipp, and Jerbo nodded. “Oh yeah,” he said. “Barcus also wants to let you know we won’t be forcing you to fight a demonic fear entity and risk your physical and psychological safety.”

Luz grinned, but shook her head. “Honestly, that’s all really tempting. But my adoring public needs their queen. And besides, uh...I’m not sure I can eat those. No offense, guys.”

“Well, why not try them with this,” Jerbo said, holding out a small vial of a murky green substance. “It’s something Barcus whipped up in Potions the other day. He calls it “Tongue Twister”. Just a drop, and it makes even the most inedible things seem like the sweetest ambrosia on the tongue. Might not wanna use more, but...”

Luz raised an eyebrow inquisitively, and took the vial from her friends hand. “Well, don’t mind if I do, then.” Uncorking the vial and sticking out her tongue, she tipped the bottle ever so slightly until a tiny drop fell out. She tutted her tongue a moment, attempting to taste the substance, but nothing seemed to register. “That’s weird,” Luz muttered. “I don’t taste anything…”

“Well, go try the chips then,” Viney offered. “I’m sure it’ll all taste amazing.” She sounded sincere, but a small twinkle in her eyes made Luz a tad skeptical. Still, a free meal was a free meal. The chips eyes would probably just add a bit of...juiciness.

Walking over to the table, she grabbed one of the (disturbingly slimes) chips by their edge, avoiding the eye in the center (and trying to not look at it too long). “Just imagine _mami’s_ cooking,” Luz mumbled as she closed her eyes and slide the chip into her mouth.

She took a bite. Then another. And then another.

After a moment, it finally hit her taste buds, and she realized it tasted like…

“OOOOOH, _MI AMOR!_ This tastes EXACTLY like the churros my _mami_ used to make!” She rushed to grab another! This one tasted like her favorite subs from back home! She took another.

And gagged.

“GAH! IS THAT MILK?” Luz quickly spat what she could out of her mouth and tried to wipe the rest off of her tongue, hoping to get the infernal taste out of her mouth. “I CAN’T EAT THIS!”

She turned back to the troublemakers, all of whom were snickering at the sight of Luz’s panic. “Sorry, bud,” Jerbo said, his snorting making it questionable how sincere his words were. “It’s just...it basically randomizes your tastebuds, so now you never know what you’re gonna taste. One second it’s chocolate ice scream, the next, crushed leaves. It was Barcus’s idea I swear,” he wheezed out between fits of hysterical laughing. 

Luz stood their, glaring at the three, before noticing that the apple blood was left unattended. And she DID have the potions vial…

_Time for this witch to show off a bit of her dark side,_ Luz thought, smirking to herself as she shuffled herself closer to the bowl.

“Oh, wow! Really funny prank guys,” Luz stated, uncorking the vial behind her back and tipping it over to pour it into the strange drink. “But sadly, I gotta get going. Queen duties and all. But, seriously, it’s been fun seeing you three again.” Luz corked the vial and slid it into her tuxedo’s pocket before walking towards the closest exit. “We need to meet up more! Next Troublemakers Tuesday?”

“Course,” Viney called out, still keeled over but still waving at the human. “Can’t wait!”

“Oh, and bring your girlfriend,” Jerbo called out. He yelped as both Barcus and Viney elbowed him harshly. “Er, I mean friend, if she’d like,” Jerbo corrected himself.

Luz bit her lip. “Uh, this isn’t exactly Amity’s scene, but I’m sure she’d be flattered. Later,” she finished, exiting the room of secret passageways and into a (thankfully) empty bathroom stall. _Now, time to get into something a little...darker._ Luz giggled as she began to slide her favorite outfit based on a furry little critter over her tux, holding the tutu down to let it slide around it. _And forget all that ‘Amity is my girlfriend’ stuff._

Unfortunately, that was easier said than done. Something about the way Jerbo said it hit Luz kinda hard. She knew he hadn’t meant to embarrass Luz or make her feel bad, but...but it was something she wasn’t comfortable thinking about.

Luz was bi. She’d always been attracted to both boys and girls. Her first crush had been Hecate, for crying out loud. But it wasn’t until a few years ago, when she’d gotten her first phone and been able to use the internet (mostly) unabated, that she was able to really dig into what that meant. She learned that, even if not everyone felt the same way, her feelings were nothing bad or wrong. She was able to read stories (mostly fanfics, but still) about girls like her, and it let Luz realize she wasn’t alone. When she came out to her _mami_ , she had been fully supportive, if occasionally a little confused ( _“Mija,_ this is the wrong season for this song! Who wears sweaters in July?”). And though she was occasionally picked on for having a pride flag sticker on her locker, most kids at school didn't seem to care all that much. Luz was comfortable with her sexuality.

But she wasn’t always comfortable with getting crushes on girls.

None of the girls at her school were like her. None of them seemed to like girls. They didn’t have pride flags or stickers or buttons. They didn’t want to kiss other girls or talk about liking girls or anything. So whenever Luz developed a crush on any of them, it scared her. _They’re probably straight,_ she thought. _You probably should just drop it, let’m go off and find some cute guy to be with. You’ll only embarras both of you if you say anything. They’ll stop talking to you, think you’re just interested in a relationship. Just don’t say anything and you’ll be ok._

But she always did. Every time. Hoping beyond hope that, maybe, they were closeted and that Luz’s confession would give them the strength they needed to finally open themselves up to be who they were!

But every time, Luz’s worst fears were right.

She’d heard every way for a straight girl to reject her under the sun. She’d heard it nicely (“I’m sorry Luz, I just don’t like girls,”), nastily (“Even if I did like girls, I’d NEVER be caught DEAD going out with the likes of you,”) and everything in between. Eventually, she just stopped trying to find a girlfriend. After all the rejection, all the hurt, she didn’t want to risk it. Instead, she’d just try to not think about having crushes on girls. She could find them cute, she could still think they were pretty, but unless a girl was out and made it clear she was at least bi, Luz avoided thoughts of romance like the plague.

And then, Amity Blight.

Luz liked Amity. Not like THAT, but she still liked her! She was smart. Like, really smart. And an Azura fan. Like, a really really big Azura fan. And, sure, Luz couldn’t deny she was pretty. Really, really, really, really…

Luz considered Willow her best friend, but something about Amity always made Luz happy in a way that the (admittedly adorable) Park just...didn’t. If Luz didn’t know any better, she’d say she might even…

Like her...like...

As she dragged the onsie up to her shoulders, Luz shook her head roughly, as if she could dislodge those thoughts from her head. _Nonononono,_ she thought. _Don’t go there. She’s your friend. A great friend, a wonderful friend, probably even a…_

A straight friend.

Even if Luz liked Amity like that (which was completely hypothetical, because she totally didn’t), the idea of telling Amity scared her (or would have, if she did like her, which she didn’t). She worked hard to make friends with her. When they met, Amity literally had Principal Bump try to dissect her (which, in the grand scheme of Luz’s experiences on the Boiling Isles, wasn’t even in the top 10 notable ways Luz had almost died). But she’d been able to get Amity to at least tolerate her enough to eventually become friends. But if Luz tried pushing further than that? Every time it happened before, it ended any chance at friendships. It made the girls think Luz was just going to creep on them. And if she lost Amity because of that, Luz didn’t know what she would do.

_Better to fall for someone who’s just a nice or good friend, not an amazing one. That way, if they reject me, it won’t hurt as much, right?_

Of course, none of that mattered, because despite Amity being cute and fun and brilliant and funny and a lot of other great things that would make anyone like her, Luz just didn’t like Amity like that at all.

Nope.

_Besides,_ Luz thought, _I’m not even Amity’s type! She likes...likes…_

As Luz flipped up the hood of the adorable onesie, she asked herself...just who WAS Amity's type, anyway? She tried to imagine the kind of person the green-haired witch would go for, who she would have wanted to ask to Grom? She pondered the question, sticking her tongue out in intense thought. But there was only one type she could really imagine Amity with.

_She's practically a princess, with her beautiful dress and big-name and kinda stuffy attitude, right_ , Luz thought. _Maybe she'd want a prince?_

Luz could imagine, some handsome young man, clad in shining armor and a charming smile, carrying a swooning Amity in his arms away from an exploding tower (why the tower was exploding Luz didn't know. She just thought it looked cool.)

_Eh, they'd be cute,_ she thought, _but not really MY type I suppose._

Luz didn't like the prince or princess charming types that much. She preferred the BAD ones. Well, ok, bad was the wrong word for it. She'd never date a bully, after all. Perhaps the better word she was looking for was...misunderstood. The type of person who was cold and distant at first, who might be aloof and mysterious, but, as you got to know them, showed that they were just lovable goofballs all along, just with tragic pasts and terrible parents.

_Heh...sorta like Amity._

“I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS!”

Luz jumped at the sudden shout. It sounded familiar, though with a lot more frustration than she’d heard before. Peaking out of the bathroom door, she confirmed who the voice belonged to, and who he was yelling to.

Edric and Emira Blight, leaning against a stack of nearby lockers, both looking surprisingly upset.

If Luz didn’t know she was bi before coming to the Boiling Isles, she certainly would have when she met the Blight twins. Both pure, concentrated forms of charm, charisma, sass, poise, and all those other things that made Luz blush, the Blight twins were the definition of “too-cool-to-be-friends-with-younger-kids.” And yet, they were friends with Luz, at least to some extent. So when she saw their gloomy demeanors, despite their matching bright yellow suite and dress, she knew she had to be a good friend and offer some assistance.

Even if she knew it was going to send her little bi heart into overdrive.

Taking a deep breath, Luz stepped out from the bathroom and waddled her way over to the 

illusion students. “Hey, you two,” Luz said, beaming in the hopes of helping the pair feel a bit better. “I saw you guys were a little glum, so I was hoping I could help turn that frown upside down!”

Emira sighed. “Hey cutie.” She turned to look at Luz. “Thanks for the offer but-” Emira stopped as she turned to Luz. Her eyes widened and she elbowed her brother, who’d been moping next to her, to see the young human as well. Both their eyes went wide, and neither could hide the giggling they were suppressing. “Uh, heh, Luz…what are you wearing, exactly?”

Luz blushed, both from Emira’s nickname for her and the sudden self consciousness she felt for wearing a silly costume while trying to talk to two gorgeous upperclassmen. “Uhhhh, it’s an otter, heh. They’re this cute thing from my world, these little animals. They build dams and do other...uh, otter things, I guess.”

For a second, the twins stared, dumbfounded. Then, they both burst out into howling fits of laughter. “Oh...oh WOW,” Edric let slip. “That’s, that’s just…”

Luz blushed and looked down, trying to avoid their gazes. “Yeah, it’s dumb. I can just-”

“Oh, nonono, cutie,” Emira interrupted. Wiping a tear from her eye, Emira placed a hand on the girls shoulder, steadying herself “It’s not that! Not that at all!”

“Yeah,” Ed continued, steadying himself with Luz’s shoulder in the same way. “Just...it’s just so, so…”

“So uniquely YOU,” Emira finished, her laugh subsiding, though with a pleasant smile still on her face. 

Luz looked up, a little surprised by Em’s reassurance. _Ya know,_ Luz thought, _when they’re not pulling pranks on their sister, these guys are pretty nice._ Feeling a little bolder, she asked “Well, thank you. And I hear that otters make GREAT listeners, so if you two wanted to maybe talk a bit about what’s wrong, maybe I can help.”

Em’s smile faded and she sighed. “That’s sweet, but I don’t think you can do much. See, me and Ed-”

“Our date’s stood us up,” Edric grumbled, crossing his arms and returning to his gloomy demeanor. “We thought they might have just been running late, but nope! It’s been hours and neither showed up.” He leaned against a nearby locker, sighing. “Last time I ask out some Glandus jerk.”

“WHAT,” Luz asked, incredulous. “HOW? You two are some of the coolest people I’ve ever met? How could ANYONE stand you up?”

Ed sighed. “Beats me. Shame, though. That Human Appreciation Society guy, he was pretty hot.”

Luz had to admit, the only thing really surprising about learning that Ed liked guys was how...unsurprising it was.

“Yeah,” Em muttered, returning fully to her self-pitying demeanor. “And that cheer captain...she DID look cute in her uniform.”

Luz nodded before the words fully registered in her brain.

_Wait. What did Em say? Did she say….she? She couldn’t have..._

“Heh, oh, that’s ALL you thought of her,” Edric asked, pulling out a small book from his pocket. “I thought she was “The most beautiful woman to have ever been born.”

As Edric’s words reached Luz’s ears, they began to tint pink. Suddenly, the revelation hit her like a freight train.

_Em...likes girls?_

Something about the idea made Luz pause. Was Em a lesbian? Or pan? Or maybe even bi, like her? Had Luz finally met a girl who...who also liked girls?

“DID YOU STEAL MY POETRY AGAIN,” Emira hissed angrily, lunging towards her brother. 

Edric held the book as high as he could and laughed. “Well, it’s not like Amity’s the only one I need blackmail material on.” 

_Ok, Luz, calm down. Even if Em likes girls, that doesn’t mean you’re her type. I mean, yes, you tried out for cheerleader, and you may or may not have stolen a Hexside uniform, but really, what else could she be looking for in a girlfriend?_

“‘Oh, how lovely is she, my mischievous imp’” Ed dramatically read aloud, trying to hold his sister back with a hand in her face.. “‘Her brown hair like the finest chocolate, her love of the animals around her only eclipsed by my love for her. I do believe her to be’ HEY,” Ed shouted as Em finally broke through his defense and tackled her brother to the ground. She reached out for the poetry book and snatched it out of her brothers hands, glaring at him as she vanished it into the void with a twirl of her fingers.

Luz, meanwhile, felt her whole face go crimson and her body vibrate as if in some form of existential panic.

_Emira likes mischievous girls. I’ve literally broken into buildings with her!_

_Emira likes brown hair. My hair’s always been brown!_

_Emira likes animal lovers. I am LITERALLY wearing an animal onesie right now!!!_

“Uh, Boiling Isles to cutie?” Emira’s voice softly asked, her waving hand braking through Luz’s mental haze. “You ok?”

“Yeah,” Edric said, adjusting his suspenders and dusting himself off. “You seem a bit out of it.”

“WHAAA,” Luz responded, trying to play it as casually as possible. “No, no, I’m fine, I’m cool, I’m chill!” Luz chuckled and leaned on her elbow against the locker. “So, uh, what are you guys gonna do about these jerks? Any ideas?” Luz knew the twins well enough to know that no one could withstand the brunt of their pranks, and that there was no chance the twins were going to take being rejected like this lying down.

The twins sideyed each other and grinned devilishly. “Well,” Emira began, “we have SOME idea’s. Contingencies, if you will.”

“There’s this ONE idea I really like,” Edric said, “where we create a bunch of slitherbeast illusions that run through Glandus and eat their lockers.” He chuckled. “Definitely sends a message, I’d say.”

“Yeah. To the school,” Emira said, rolling her eyes. “I say we make illusions of ghosts of their dead pets that follow them around and torment them until they apologize to us. Much more personal and psychologically damaging, I’d say.”

“Awww,” Edric whined. “But I like to see the BIG chaos.”

“Well,” Emira said, turning to Luz with a smile. “why don’t we let Luz decide. She’s a little troublemaker, I’m sure she’ll know what’s the better option.” The two got close, really, really, _REALLY_ close, to Luz’s face and grinned. “So Luz, which should it be,” Emira asked mischievous grin. “Spooky ghosts?”

“Or super big fun slitherbeasts,” Edric countered.

_I’m gonna be the first person on the Boiling Isle’s to spontaneously combust wearing an otter onesie, aren’t I,_ a sweating, tomato-faced Luz asked herself.

Both ideas, Luz had to admit, sounded fun and exciting and well justified in their own unique ways. But Luz had to admit, even if something about Emira’s smile made her really really REALLY wanna agree with her, Luz thought it was missing something…

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck her. 

“Well,” Luz began, trying her best to not sound like she was a nervous little bi wreck, “I actually 

think I have a better idea…”

Ed and Em glanced at each other, curious. “Oh,” Edric asked, curiosity lacing his words.

“Do tell,” Emira asked, inquisitively. 

Luz gulped in bi panic, but cleared her throat. “See, as much as I love Edric’s prank, that’s more of a school wide thing, not really personel enough.”

Edric frowned while Em’s grin widened. “HA!”

“But,” Luz continued, “what exactly happens if you haunt them for a few weeks? A couple months of therapy?” She shook her head. “Nah, I think we can do better. Something that leaves them TRULY traumatized.” With a smirk, Luz took her arm out of her onsies socket and dug into her tutux’s pockets. After a second, she pulled out the vial of Tongue Taster. “Tah dah!”

The two stared at the potion, eyebrows raised. “And, uh...that is, what, exactly,” Edric asked.

“This, my hot upperclass friends, is a lovely little potion which randomizes the taste buds! Bite into an apple? Maybe you’ll taste chocolate cake!” Luz grinned. “Or, they bite into a chocolate cake, and taste grass!” She chuckled. “They’ll never be able to trust their mouths again! They’ll be mortified! Oh sure, SOMETIMES they taste something good, but they could also get something so terrible it makes them hurl! And best of all, it’s a lot more subtle then what you’re used to, meaning it’ll be harder for them to trace it to you two!”

The two looked at each other, each raising an eyebrow. “Luz,” Edric asked, “are you suggesting we cause permanent scars of distrust in their own senses merely for the small crime of not showing up to a dance with us?”

Luz frowned and looked down. “Well, I just thought-”

Then, a slap on her back. “Didn't think you had it in ya,” Em congratulated.

Luz could feel her heart go into overdrive for a split second, and her face flashed as bright red as an apple. “Heh. Uh, thanks, Em.”

“None needed,” she exclaimed with a wink, which did NOT do Luz’s current state any favors.

“Never heard of a potion that can do that,” Edric mused. “And I know pretty much every prank potion in the book. You sure this stuff works?”

Luz was about to come up with a clever or funny way of saying yes before-

“LUZ?”

The human blushed as Viney stepped out from the nearby girls restroom and spotted her. All three witches watched the girl fuming as she exaggeratedly stomped to them, glaring daggers at the human. “Did you put some of that Tongue Taster in our apple blood?!”

Luz let a guilty grin cross her face as she held her hands up in surrender. “Uh, in my defense, you guys sorta did it to me first, so…”

The older girl glared at Luz...before bursting into laughter and punching her lightly on the arm. “HA! Fair enough.” She shook her head, still chuckling. “Should have seen that one coming, really. Now I’ll be tasting griffon spiders for a whole wee-” She looked up at the twins and her smile vanished almost instantaneously, replaced with a glower. “Hello,” she said, her voice emotionless save for maybe the slightest bit of contempt.

Edric raised an eyebrow. “Uh...hello there?”

Viney looked back down at Luz with a smirk. “May have put in a bit too much though. Jerbo and Barcus are definitely gonna need my help if they wanna taste anything normally again. I’ll catch ya later, k?”

Luz nodded. “Course! Can’t wait!”

Viney smiled and walked away. “Later Luz! Looking cute in that onesie!” Before she returned to the bathroom, she glared at the twins again, one last time. “Blights,” she hissed out before slamming the door.

Edric looked down at Luz, confused. “Uh, who was that? Don’t think I’ve seen her much around here.”

Luz shrugged. “That was my friend Viney. Troublemaker, beastkeeper AND healer, saved the school from a basilisk, pulled a few pranks together.”

“Really,” Em asked, a little distant sounding. Luz looked up to see Emira staring off at where the beast keeper had just been. Luz couldn’t quite tell what the look was, in the dark, with little more than the glow of the moon on her lovely pale face...and the slight glow of her lovely golden eyes….

_Where...where’d all this come from,_ Luz asked herself, biting her inner lip. _I mean, I’m not falling for Em, right? I mean, she’s pretty and funny and cool and all but..._

Luz couldn’t actually think of how she wanted to end that thought.

“Yeah, she’s pretty cool actually. I think you guys would get along!”

“Well, she doesn’t seem to think so,” Edric mused. “She actually kinda seemed to hate our guts, if I’m being honest.”

Luz shrugged. “Well, she does think you Blight’s are all stuck up elitist losers, so maybe-”

Emira turned swiftly to face the two, her face beat red. “What,” she asked, seemingly offended by the idea of them being even remotely like stuffy. “Are you serious?”

Luz bit her lip and nodded. “Yeah. Afraid so!”

Emira’s nostrils flared, and she glanced back into the gym. She hummed lightly for a second, then grinned. “I bet I can show her who’s a ‘stuck up elitist…” Then, turning to Luz, Emira grinned. A grin so wide, so toothy, that Luz could see the gleam of her pearly white fangs.

_Wait, FANGS!! LIKE VAMPIRES! HOW DID I NEVER NOTICE THAT BEFORE? I THOUGHT ONLY EDA HAD THOSE!!!!_

Luz could suddenly feel herself getting VERY red again.

“So, cutie,” Emira mused, “think you’d be able to get the Owl Lady to whip us up a little more of that stuff for our dates? So that we could use the last of that vial for...other things?”

Luz was so distracted trying to hide her face that she didn’t quite register what Em said at first. But as she did, another mischievous grin crossed her face. Shaking the vial again, Luz commented, “I think she can. But first, mind if I do one little thing?”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luz giggled as she left the photo booth. Back in the human world, she’d been kicked out of her dance before she could grab a picture of herself in her delightful outfit, and she wasn’t going to miss the chance to snag one here. Though she was curious as to why it had felt a tad breezier this time around then the photos she’d gotten earlier…

The twins stood outside the booth, smirking. “You ready,” Edric asked, a rougeish glimmer in his eyes. Luz nodded viceroyalty, but before she could say anything...

“Yo, kid,” she heard Eda call out. Luz spotted the Owl Lady walking over with Willow and Gus on either side, along with the King of Demons draped over her shoulders. The human gave a wide smile and gestured at herself and her attire. 

“Hey guys! Whatcha all think? Cute, isn’t it?”

She could see Willow hold a hand up to her mouth, suppressing a laugh. Gus, meanwhile, couldn’t hide the enjoyment he got, and just let out a loud “HA,” at the sight. Eda pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head, but the smile one her face gave away her own amusement.

“Wow,” King said from atop Eda’s shoulders. “That’s an amazing defense against predators!”

“Cause it’s so cute,” Luz asked, beaming.

“No, because they’ll be too busy throwing up at the thought of eating you.”

Luz’s face dropped, but she quickly gave her head a hard shake. She wasn’t going to let anything dampen her mood this night. She was too excited with her outfit and her prank and with…

She frowned as she realized someone was missing. “Hey guys,” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “where’s Amity?”

“Ugh, right here Luz,” Amity groaned out behind her. Turning, Luz spotted the youngest Blight being held aloft by a floating spell her brother seemed to be performing. The blushing Amity did not look as amused as her siblings did, both giggling as Edric flipped spun the Grom Queen in midair.

_They may be pretty cool,_ Luz thought as she walked up to the sibling fighting, _but I suppose they’re still siblings…_

“Guys,” Luz asked, holding out her paws, er, hands to get them to drop her. “Please put her down!”

The twins eyed each other, nodded, and with their signature flare for the dramatic, dropped Amity...directly into Luz’s arms. 

Both Luz and Amity turned beat red, turning their head away from each other. “Uh, sorry,” Luz said, before gingerly placing her absolute best, friendliest friend on her heels. 

“It’s fine,” Amity coughed, clearly embarrassed at Luz’s holding of her. The human witch bit her lip as she watched the twins snicker with barely suppressed laughter. 

“Ed, Em,” Luz asked, “c’mon! Give her a break.”

The two chuckled and shook their heads. “Sorry, sorry,” Ed said, his expression implying he wasn’t really. “Just...just needed a bit of a chuckle is all.”

Amity glared at her older siblings before turning to Luz. “Uhm, hey...I wanted to ask you something…” She rubbed her left arm and bit her lower lip, once again showing off the fangs Luz had only just now noticed.

_She’s probably going to leave. Thank me for my time and walk away. Which is fine. Totally fine. She has every right to go hang out with her probably awesome and adorable crush. All I have to do is accept it and_

“Hold that thought,” Luz interrupted. She wasn’t entirely certain why she was stopping Amity from leaving, honestly, but as she did, Luz’s mind raced a mile a minute. Then, she blurted out “I was wondering if you’d be willing to join me and your siblings for a-a plan!”

“Wait, plan,” Amity asked, raising an eyebrow as she leaned forward. “What plan? What exactly is this plan?” Willow and Gus looked at each other, confused, as Eda and King leaned forward to eavesdrop.

Both her older siblings immediately shook their heads. “No way,” Ed remarked. “Mitten’s is many things, but a prankster isn’t one of them.”

“Yeah,” Em remarked. “I know you two are friends and all, but she couldn’t keep this secret to save her life”

“Hey,” Luz said, “I know Amity isn’t a precocious prankster like you people, but she’s still awesome and cool and I’m sure she’d be willing to help us if we asked!”

“Uh, ask her what,” Willow inquired, tilting her head.

“I would, uh, like to know too,” Amity said, looking from the twins to Luz nervously.

“Oh,” Luz said, smirking as she drew out the vial. “Just a little bit of tastebud-twisting terror, truly.”

Eda shook her head and cackled. “Ah, babies first school-wide prank. My oh my, that takes me back.” Looking back at Luz, she grinned a toothy, golden-fanged grin at her essentially adopted daughter. “So, what’s your game plan?”

Luz nodded. “Well, I was gonna get the twins to block off the punch bowl for a bit while Amity distracted the crowd with a speech, and when no ones looking, I poor the potion into the bowl and BOOM,” Luz declared, jumping and throwing her arms out for emphasis. “Whole school’s pranked, _bebe_!” She smirked. “Whatcha guys think?”

Eda rubbed her chin, then shrugged. “Eh. Simple but effective. Only problem is, really think miss goody two shoes would be willing to-”

“I’LL DO IT,” Amity declared before slapping her hands over her mouth.

“Uh, I mean, I’ll do it,” she muttered, much quieter.

Luz tilted her head. Even if she had hoped Amity would be willing to help, she wasn’t expecting her to be this...excitable about it. And it was clear Luz wasn’t the only one surprised. Everyone surrounding the two girls eyed her with confusion and suspicion, as if she’d just from a second head and a third eyeball (well, on the Isles, one of those things probably wasn’t too weird, but Luz suspected both at once would be a bit strange even for here).

The twins blinked and glanced at each. Then, the tips of the lips curling upwards, they placed a hand onto Luz’s shoulder. “Sure, cutie,” Emira said playfully, causing Luz’s cheeks to turn a touch pink. “Mittens can help.”

“Mom and dad always complain about us kids not getting along,” Edric agreed. “Maybe turning our baby sister into a fellow prankster will lighten her up a bit, make her more fun to hang out with.”

Amity gulped before nodding fiercely. “Uh, sure. That sounds fun! Totally something I can do.”

Luz wasn’t entirely sure what to make of Amity’s reaction. It was certainly...different from what she’d expected. But Luz decided not to try and think too deeply into it. _She’s just being a good friend,_ she thought. _They try to help each other out, even when it’s not something they’d wanna do. I mean, I’d be willing to help her with something like, I dunno, her crush?_

Luz felt a small pang of guilt. For a second she thought about telling Amity she could just go to her crush, but after a moments pause, she recognized that it would now just make Amity feel bad for walking away from the prank.

Luz felt another, longer pang of guilt, but she tried to ignore it.

“Thanks, Ami,” Luz said, smiling before pulling her friend into a big friendly bear (er, otter) hug. “I promise I’ll make it worth your while!”

When she dropped her friend to her feet, she could see she’d turned a bright crimson and become stiff. “N-no problem,” she choked out.

_Shoot,_ Luz thought. _I must have embarrassed her. Great going Luz…_

Trying to break some of the tension, Luz dug through her otter costume and pulled out her tiara. "Oh, and can ya hold this,” Luz asked. “It won’t really go with what I’m planning.”

Eda looked up from the crown and back to Luz. “Ya know, I could fetch a lot of snails with a cute thing like that…” If Luz didn’t know Eda, she would have been worried she was being sincere. But after living with her for a few weeks, Luz could pick up on the differences between Eda’s ‘serious tone’ and her ‘trying to be serious but actually just playing tone’. “Eh, fine,” Eda said. “But no promises I’ll have it when ya get back! Or that King won’t have gotten his little mitts all over it.”

“WHAT,” King asked indignantly. “Just because it’s very pretty and cool and a symbol of the authoritarian power I crave and you know what I think I may just be better at keeping it safe so if you could just hand it to me-” King reached for the tiara, but Eda slapped his clawed hands away before placing it into a pocket in her suit.

“Alright,” Gus interrupted before Luz could mentally kick herself further. “I’ll get everyone’s attention and Amity can keep it. Just give us a sec.” Rushing past the Blight siblings and Luz, he motioned for Amity to follow. She glanced at Luz, and for a moment, the human thought she saw something...different, in Amity’s eyes. Something sad, but not sad about breaking the rules. Was it...longing, maybe? Pain? But before she could think about it, or even confirm her suspicions, Amity looked away and stiffly jogged behind Gus.

The Grom MC took the stage, grabbed the mic stand, and tapped it, creating an annoying feedback sound that caused many to cover their ears, including Luz.

_Guess some things are annoying even with magic._

“Yo yo,” Gus called out, his signature charisma turned up to eleven. “Guys, gals, and demon pals, you all enjoying yourselves this lovely Grom night?” Most of the crowd murmured amongst themselves for a bit, but, after a moment, they began to cheer and clap in excitement. Gus nodded. “Heck yeah!” Gus took the mic from its stand, walking to the top of the stage. “Now, folks, I got one of this years lovely queens up here to give you all a little speech! I hope you’re all ready to have your sock knocked off!”

The crowd clapped as Amity, red faced and lightly sweating, took the microphone from Gus and stepped forward to the front of the stage. A slight gulp was audible from the mic before she gave a small, nervous smile. “So...we beat Grom, huh?” Amity raised a fist in the air in victory, though it almost looked weak.

This time, the crowd seemed less enthused. Some of them murmured amongst themselves, questioning what was going on.

“BOOO,” a particularly snot nosed boy cried. “Bring back the music!”

Luz was in no way surprised to learn that particular jerk had been Matt.

Luz looked up at the twins, who both looked back at her and nodded, all three knowing what to do. The twins casually strolled over to the punch, Luz attempting to look as inconspicuous behind them as possible. When they all reached the table, the twins took one of the clear cups (well, clear except for the lizard-like eyeball in the front) and filled it before casually leaning on the table, appearing as nonchalant as possible, but eyeing the crowd to be sure no one was paying attention to the table. Luz followed suite, but after a moment filled a second glass and placed it next to her.

“For Amity when she’s done,” she explained to the twins. They both smirked, amused at the idea. 

“And, uh, alongside that, we...well, me and Luz, I suppose, we had to face our fears...which, I suppose makes sense, given Grom’s a, well, fear demon…”

The crowd that had begun so positively now began to look more and more bored. They began to mumble, and Matt’s idea of turning back on the music seemed to be gaining more appeal. And it was becoming more and more obvious that the youngest Blight was starting to grow more and more nervous.

“Ha,” King smuggly laughed from Eda’s shoulder. “Imagine EVER getting scared on stage! What a whi-” Thankfully his final word was drowned out by a smack on the back of his head by Eda.

Still, Amity was clearly starting to panic. Her eyes darted across the length of the crowd, and Luz spotted the witch biting her lip with her cute little fang. Luz felt another, deeper pang of guilt. _Why didn’t I think of being the distraction? I would have been fine with the public humiliation, but Amity…_

Amity’s wide, golden eyes trialed the hostile crowd. They seemed to be seeking a friendly face, someone to help calm her nerves. Luz knew she couldn’t just do anything. Amity was only in this because of her. She had to help.

“Psttttttttttt,” she hissed out, hoping to make it only loud enough for Amity to hear it. And thankfully, it was; Amity turned to look at Luz, her eyes showing a similar type of fear when she talked about Grom. And the same embarrassment. 

Luz did the only thing her mind could think of at such a crucial moment; she picked up her hands and shot her friend a pair of finger guns, lightly clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth as she winked.

Luz knew she looked like an imbecile, and for a second she wanted to just slap her face at such a stupid idea. But for some reason, the gesture seemed to actually...help Amity? The fear in her eyes drained out, and the corners of her lips curled up into a small smile, and...was that breath of air a giggle, Luz thought?

_I mean, probably not. Girls don’t usually giggle at cute things I do…_

Amity cleared her throat, then turned back to the crowd. Now, she appeared to be more confident, ready to help distract the crowd.

“But,” Amity continued, her voice now filled with the same kind of determination she’d shown Luz when she asked her to dance. “I can’t pretend it was easy. I know how painful it is to face your fears. To confront what scares you the most. And, honesty, I’m still scared.”

Now the audience looked somewhat confused, but the animosity and feeling that their time was being wasted had started to vanish. In their place, Luz could see the crowd was actually starting to listen in earnest, their attention pointed towards the green Grom queen.

“I had to ask Luz to do it because I was unable to face my fears. But in the end, even someone as brave and fearless and...well, as Luz, even SHE couldn’t face Grom alone.”

Luz bit her lip and looked down. She knew Amity had been right on that one. Luz couldn’t face the fear of disappointing her mom. And now…

“But she didn’t have to. Not alone, anyway.” Amity stated. “Luz and I were able to beat back Grom and save the Isles. Together. Because you don’t have to be alone.”

The crowd began to look amongst itself as Luz looked back up at Amity. She couldn’t believe how confident the witch was, so self assured. Ten seconds ago she’d been scared near death, and now her tone, her expression, her voice, her golden eyes, all of them radiated determination and courage. Luz smiled a little. She couldn’t help it. It made her happy to see her friend stand tall, have her act as amazing and wonderful as Luz knew she was. 

_She’s so amazing and brave and fearless. This guy she’s fallen for...he’s gotta be super wonderful if it makes her so nervous._

“Grom is scary. The Isles are scary! Everything is super scary,” Amity admitted. “But...then I remember my friends. I remember I have wonderful people in my corner who care about me, who think I can make it. Who know I can make it. And so do you.” She waved a hand to gesture at the entire crowd. “Everyone has somebody who helps them face their fears fight that voice in their head that tells them they can’t do it. That they can’t face their mom, or make that grade, or confess to their crush. And they deserve to know how much they’ve helped you through all of that.” Amity was beaming now, almost excited by her speech. “So guys, please, whenever you get the chance, tell that special person, that wonderful person who helps you feel like everything will be ok, tell them how much they mean to you. How much they help you. Because they deserve to know it. And maybe they’ll let you know you’re the one who helps them too.”

The crowd began to cheer as Amity took the mic from her face, and Luz couldn’t help but smile and raise a glass to the speech. She was about to shout out a compliment, but she felt an elbow dig into her ribs.

“Now's your chance,” Emira whispered. “Everyone’s distracted! Lets do this!” Luz looked up at her, nodded with a light smirk, and took out the vial. Most of the vial poured out, but Luz turned it over before it had all drained out. Elbowing Emira, she gestured her head towards Edric, still holding his cup, and smirked. 

“ED,” she whispered in a mock shocked voice, “Is THAT a super cute guy over there!?” Luz pointed to a back corner of the gym, and Ed’s eye’s immediately darted upwards.

“Where,” he asked, genuinely hopeful. It almost made Luz a little guilty for silently pouring out the rest of the vial into the male Blight’s drink.

Almost.

“Oops,” Luz said with a shrug. “Must have missed’m.” She glanced up at Emira and winked. The two had to hold in their laughter as Edric, with a small, sad little sigh, took a sip of his drink.

Then, turning to the girls, he dryly asked “You put the potion in my drink when I wasn’t looking, didn’t you.”

The two could only stop holding back their laughter in response.

As she did, Luz had to look up at Emira, who was practically howling in laughter as Edric covered his mouth, his face turning green from whatever he had just tasted. It made Luz slowly stop laughing as she looked up and just...just stared at her.

Her golden eyes, bright and filled with a love for life.

Her laugh, an adorable sound that eclipsed even the holiest of church bells.

Emira looked beautiful, like some sort of adorable, mischievous…

_Hecate…_

Luz’s cheeks suddenly became inflamed as she realized what was happening.

_I’m starting to get a crush on Em._

Luz could feel herself start to panic as the revaluation set in. It was the same way she’d felt about so many girls; the same realization, the same nervousness, and eventually the same fear. 

_She’s just a friend._

_She’s not into you._

_She doesn’t like gi-_

And then Luz remembered what Emira just causally admitted to her in the hallway.

_Wait….Em DOES like girls…_

Luz could still feel her cheeks were red, but the panic in her chest was being replaced with a more pleasant, albeit still somewhat painful, sense of giddy nervousness.

_Em likes girls!_

_EM LIKES GIRLS!!!_

_HEIDKBDHDIAGAYWIEJEHWUGAGEMLIKESGIRLS!!!!!!!_

Luz had a problem with believing the universe would tell her things. Not in a creepy ‘voices in her head’ way, but more in a ‘we want you to be the chosen one so here’s all the good destiny stuff’ sort of way. It was a belief that had nearly gotten her killed earlier, when she thought her being the only human on the Isles somehow meant she had some super awesome destiny.

Turns out it was just a creepy squid beast trying to kill Eda. Not her best memories, she had to admit…

Ever since then, she’d try to not think like that, like the universe was talking to her and her alone. Even when things were going really well, like when she finally got Eda to admit to liking hugs, she still avoided looking too deeply into them. They weren’t some personalized message from larger forces telling her anything meaningful. They were the same sort of coincidences or lucky breaks anyone could stumble into. 

But something about this, about watching Emira laughing and knowing she caused it, knowing that Em liked girls, knowing that Em liked girls _LIKE HER_ , made Luz wonder if this was, indeed, some deeper sign. That maybe, after all these years, she’d finally found the girl she’d been looking for. All those tears shed, all that pain and frustration, all those sleepless nights over bashing herself for not being able to get the girl of her dreams because she was straight, had finally culminated in her big break. 

_Maybe...maybe Em and I could...maybe Em could be the Hecate to my Azura?_

Luz could feel her left hand begin to shake lightly, and after a moment she realized she was trying to raise it out to offer it to Emira. To ask her

_May I have this dance?_

Amity’s words to her, the ones she’d stated so confidently before their big dance, echoed in Luz’s mind. She thought for a moment about doing the same with Emira, about pulling together all her confidence, gathering every ounce of strength she could muster, and, with a playful smirk, asking Emira that same question.

_You can do this Luz. Just ask her. Easy as that._

But she couldn’t. Her hand simply shook as she continued to stare at Emira, wiping a tear from her eye as she finished laughing at her brothers misfortune. Then, she looked to Luz, and her face fell a tad.

“Uh, is something wrong,” Emira asked, puzzled. “Is there something on my face?”

Luz immediately looked away, hoping she was concealing her embarrassment (though certain she wasn’t). “Wha? No, no, there's nothing! I mean, there’s that little mole, that’s there, but-”

_How did Amity make this look so effortless?!?_

_Then again, Amity did it to protect the Isles, to save it from Grom._

_She didn’t ask me because she WANTED to dance with me. Not like that._

Thankfully, her predicament was brought to an end as Amity rushed over to the table. “GUYS, GU-” she called out excitedly, before realizing maybe shouting at a group of people who had just pranked the whole school wasn’t the best way to make them all inconspicuous. “I mean, er, guys,” she said, much quieter, but still with a smile on her lips. “Did you do it?”

Luz gave Amity her cup, took her own, and playfully clanked the two together. “To your first successful prank,” Luz whispered back, winking at the Abomination’s witch. Amity smiled back and took a sip from her cup, as daintily and as dignified a sip as she could muster in her excited state. Luz had to admit, seeing Amity this excited, she almost kinda sorta maybe looked cute, possibly.

Luz downed her drink in one gulp, then threw the cup to the side (normally she’d abhor littering, but this was a special occasion), and wrapped Amity up in another otter-sized hug. “You did AWESOME, Ami,” Luz said, squeezing hard. “I knew you could be a prankster!”

When she put Amity down after a moment, she could see she had turned a shade of red so bright, she questioned if a human would even be able to match it. “Uh, sure, yeah, thanks” she mumbled, suddenly seeming far more self conscious as she fiddled with the hem of her dress.

Mentally, Luz kicked herself. _Nice going, Noceda. She’s probably worried you like her or something..._

“Heh, yeah, Mittens,” Edric said, breaking the tension. “Not a bad distraction. And a cute speech too.”

“Anyone SPECIAL help you come up with it,” Emira asked. Luz tried to avoid looking into Emira’s eyes, afraid she’d get lost in them...and failed miserably, noting the playful wink she gave to her younger sister.

Amity ignored her siblings, instead looking back to Luz. “So, Luz...now that that’s over with...there was something I wanted to ask…”

_She’s gonna ask to leave and go find her crush. And that’s fine. She deserves to be happy. To dance with him. Stop being selfish and just let her do it. It doesn’t matter if you want to hang out still, let her go live and-_

“MISS NOCEDA,” an old voice called behind her, a voice that, no matter how weary it was from years of being a teacher and running a school, still managed to send shivers down the backs of every troublemaking teen when they heard it.

“PRINCIPLE BUMP,” Luz cried, spinning on her heels and giving her widest and most innocent attempt at a ‘Please don’t kill me’ smile she could. The twins followed suite, while Amity looked as if she had just walked in on violent murder.

“What seems to be the trouble,” Edric asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

“Yeah, Luz hasn’t done anything,” Emira said.

“HAHA, YEAH,” Amity said, laughing nervously. “TOTALLY! POURING A TASTEBUD SCREWING-UP POTION INTO A BOWL OF GROM PUNCH, PFFFFT, WHO DOES THAT?”

Luz had to admit, while she (platonically) loved Amity, she could now see why the twins hadn’t wanted her in on the prank.

Bump raised an eyebrow suspiciously at Amity’s comment, but turned back to Luz. “Right. Well, firstly, I wanted to congratulate you and miss Blight on your little performance. I admit, in my...numerous, years as a teacher and principal at this fine establishment, I have never seen anyone defeat Grom in such a creative way.”

Luz couldn’t help but beam with pride at the comment. “Why, thank you, I-”

“Secondly, I would like to request you either change or leave this dance immediately.”

“WHAT,” all four pranksters asked in unison. Even the always calm and collected twins looked bewildered at the suggestion.

Bump nodded and spun a small spell circle. An ornate scroll with the Hexside crest embodied on its parchment fell from it. Bump cleared his throat and recited;

“Hexside School Rules, section 12, subsection 43, subsubsection X: Animal costumes at school functions. No student is permitted to wear any sort of attire that makes them appear to be an animal of any sort.”

“Not even if they’re freaking Grom queen,” Luz demanded indignantly.

“Subsubsection Y: Not even Grom queens.”

“Uh...not even if it’s super adorable,” Luz asked, batting her eyelashes and smiling as sweetly as possible.

Bump was unamused. “Subsubsection Z: ESPECIALLY when the costume is super adorable.”

Luz was beginning to get genuinely angry. “But I just saved the entire Isles! And besides, school dress codes are unfairly written to punish minorities and young women who express themselves in way’s patriarchal values deem a threat to fragile ego’s!”

“Preach it, sis,” Edric cheered,pumping a fist into the air.

“You go, cutie,” Emira called back, smiling with pride at Luz standing up for herself.

“Uh, yeah,” Amity said, clearly less comfortable with standing up to authority than her siblings. “Hehe, don’t uh...don’t listen to him.” She weakly tried to raise a fist, but she only put it up halfway.

“Be that as it may,” Bump said, ignoring the Blight’s, “I’m afraid that rules are rules. If you choose not to change out of your current attire, I’ll be forced to have you escorted off the premises.”

“Well, I won’t change,” Luz declared, stamping a foot and crossing her arms. It was admittedly childish, but this was such a stupid rule, Luz didn’t really care.

And, maybe, she was hoping her anti-authority stance could be enough to impress a certain Blight girl…

“Yeah,” Edric agreed. “And if she goes, so do I!” He stepped forward and placed a hand onto Luz’s right shoulder.

“And me.” Emira mimicked her brother, stepping forward and taking Luz’s left shoulder. “We gotcha, cutie,” she whispered to Luz.

Luz couldn’t help but blush deeply, both at the physical contact and the fact that two hot upperclassmen, one of whom she was developing a crush on, were standing up for her. Then, she felt someone take her left hand. Even through the otter costumes paws, Luz could tell the person's hands were small, dainty, and familiar. Turning her head, she saw Amity, still clearly uncomfortable, but a determination to help her friend burning in her eyes. Luz couldn’t help but let loose a small smile and gently squeeze Amity’s hand. _Even when she’s scared and wants to be with her crush, she’s willing to risk it all for me…_

“I’m here for ya Luz,” Amity said, her voice quivering but determined. “After all, Bump can’t kick us all out, right?”

—————————————————————

One could tell a lot about the differences between the Blight siblings by how they reacted to being kicked out of Grom.

Amity sat on the steps to the building, shaking and hyperventilating into a bag as Luz rubbed her back, trying to help reassure her that everything would be ok.

Meanwhile, the twins were cackling it up, clearly having the time of their lives. 

“Luz, that was AWESOME,” Emira laughed, twirling in her dress like she was still at the dance. “I can’t believe we actually got kicked out!”

“I know,” Edric agreed, pumping his fists in the air. “What a rush!”

“RUSH,” Amity angrily shouted, picking herself up off the steps and marching towards her siblings. “We just got kicked out of Grom! If mom and dad find out-“

“Oh relax, Mittens,” Edric said, smirking. “Bump talks big, but I’m sure you’ll be back on his good side within an hour back.”

Emira nodded in agreement. “Plus,” she added, “dear ol’ mom and dad won’t have to learn about this little incident.” She winked. “I may or may not have my little ways of intercepting any and all of Bump’s messages to our parents. They won’t have to hear about it as long as we don’t tell them.”

Luz could see Amity shake in rage for a moment before slumping her shoulders, sighing in defeat and frustration. “I just...I’ve just never done...well, ANYTHING like this before! Prancing the school, getting kicked out…”

“Next thing you’ll know you’ll be fighting Belos,” Edric snorted. “Look at our baby sister, becoming a little rebel.”

For not the first time that night, Amity blushed crimson.

“Well, at least we weren’t escorted by Eda’s staff, right,” Luz half heartedly joked, walking over to the Blights and continuing to run Amity’s back.

“Yeah,” Amity muttered. “Just got levitated out the door by the principal…”

Not for the first time that night, Luz felt a pang of guilt associated with hurting Amity. Personally, she wasn’t too beat up about the incident itself. She’d suffered such a fate before, she could suffer through it again. But dragging the star student Amity into all it made her heart sink.

_She won’t get to confess to her crush or dance with him because I had to be the little revolutionary. I’m such a tool._

“Luz! Amity,” Willow shouted from the top of the steps, rushing out alongside Gus, Eda, and King (still atop Eda’s shoulders) to the front of the school. 

“You ok, kid,” Eda asked, rushing over and to Luz and grabbing her student/adopted daughters arms, looking the human up and down. “I swear, if ol’ Bumpy boy thinks he can get MY kid thrown out of Grom, well-”

“It’s ok, Eda,” Luz reassured her mentor/mother figure. “I’ll be fine. Don’t sweat it.” 

“Still,” Eda insisted, “I can get back at him some way. Spiders in his coffee? Snakes in his pillows? Spider-snakes in his-”

“It’s ok, it’s ok,” Luz laughed. “Really. Thank you though.”

“That was so insane to watch,” Gus said. “Like, dang, why even have such a dumb rule.”

Luz just shrugged. “Dunno. Might have to fight’em on that Monday.” She yawned and stretched. “But, now, I think I’m pretty tired. Might just head back to the Owl House and grab some early Z’s, if ya know what I mean.”

Amity sighed. “Yeah...I guess it is getting late…” She seemed disappointed, almost upset…

“Nah-uh,” Edric cut in, shaking his head. “No way I’m letting you just go home now, Luz.” He placed a hand atop Luz’s shoulder. “The nights still young. We can go out and paint the town! Not that I’m really interested in doing that, but I guess it could be something we do.”

“At least let us take you out for appleblood smoothies, cutie,” Emira said, again placing a hand on Luz’s shoulder and causing Luz’s heart rate to break every record in the book. “I’m sure Amity would love to join.” She winked at her younger sister, who blushed and turned her head away.

“Uh, sure,” Amity mumbled. “That sounds n-nice.”

Luz raised an eyebrow, but didn’t dwell too hard on it. _Probably still embarrassed about getting kicked out still._

“That DOES sound fun,” Luz admitted. “Willow, Gus, you guys wanna join us?”

Gus looked as if he was about to say something affirmative, but Willow cut him off. “We’d love to, Luz, really, but unfortunately, our, uh, our dates will worry about us!”

Both Luz and Gus raised an eyebrow at that. “Uh, what,” Gus asked, confused. “We don’t hav-” But Willow cut him off again, this time by stamping on his foot. “OUCH! I mean, yeah, totally, our, uh, invisible, silent dates, haha.” Gus smiled a wide, nervous smile and placed a fist on his waist, as expecting a partner to interlock their arm with his. “Let’s go, uh...Gussy!” Willow followed suit and the two friends walked back up the stairs, waving goodbye as they went.

“Huh…” Luz muttered. “Didn’t know that was a thing…”

“Well, _I_ don’t have a date,” King said, jumping off Eda’s shoulders. “Not that I couldn’t get one if I tried. I mean, look at me,” he said, gesturing to himself as if he were a model. “I’m the most beautiful thing anyone’s ever seen.” 

“I’ve seen better,” muttered Amity.

“I’m looking at better,” Emira said, and Luz could practically feel herself turn into a supernova.

King began to strut towards the group. “I’m sure you all will be humbled and honored by the King of Demons prescience in your HEY!” His last word changed in tone as Eda grabbed the small, feisty creature by his collar and lifted him to her face.

“You,” Eda hissed, “are staying here.”

“What,” King shouted indignantly. “Why can’t I go out with them? Eda, as your future overlord I-”

Eda gave King a death glare that shut him up immediately, then began to jerk her head towards Luz hard. She also seemed to be side-eying her and...someone else? Seeing only half her face made it a little hard to tell, but it looked as if The Owl Lady wanted to tell the demon as quietly as possible “The kid wants to be alone with someone, leave her be.”

After a moment, King’s eyes widened.“Oooooooooh,” he uttered, as if he finally understood Eda’s point. “I gotcha,” he said, winking at Eda.

“Well then,” Emira said, clasping her hands together, “shall we all head out then?” 

“I’d love to,” Luz eagerly stated. For a second she was worried that it had been maybe a bit TOO eager, but judging by Emira grabbing her hand, it was just the right amount.

“Awesome,” she said, smiling down at Luz before turning to the front. “Lets go!”

Luz turned around and, without thinking, grabbed Amity’s hand. “Yeah! C’mon!”

She wasn’t sure why she did. It was clearly the wrong thing to do, given Amity’s apparent embarrassed face getting worse by the second. But Emira tugging Luz along made it impossible for her to let go of Amity without forcing her to fall, and so she simply held on to her red faced friend, hoping that maybe she could make up for her embarrassment later down the line.

“Bye Luz,” King called out, waving from Eda’s shoulder. “Bye green-haired person Luz probably has a crush on!”

Luz loved King, but she had never wanted to slap sense into anyone more in her life. 

Thankfully, given King’s squeal of pain shortly after, she guessed Eda already beat her to it.

“Heh, uh, silly King, am I right guys? Hehe…”

_Is it really that obvious?_

_\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

The four friends went on a pleasant walk through the forests towards Bonesburough, where the Blights introduced Luz to The Apple Shack, where a friendly eyeball eating demon took their orders. It took a bit of time for the orders to be placed, however, since everyone argued over who would pay. 

First Em offered (“This was my idea, I’ll pay for it.”). 

Then Ed (“Nonono, sis. Allow me.”) 

Then Amity (“Ugh, we all use the SAME card! And it isn’t even our money! I’ll do it.”). 

Then Luz (“No, allow me.”). 

Then Luz realized her allowance would barely cover the special crazy straws for all of them (Eda was many good things, but generous with Luz’s allowance was sadly not one of them) and she had to decline buying any. 

The Blights bickered and argued about it for at least 5 minutes until they came to an agreement; they would each buy their own Appleblood Smoothie, while Amity would also pay for Luz’s. Luz, however, insisted on getting everybody the crazy straws (“They’re, like, 80 percent of the fun, really.”) and the four friends left the Apple Shack with their own tall cup of frozen Appleblood goodness, complete with a straw that looped, curled, and had an eyeball wrapped around it ( _What is it with this place and EYES EVERYWHERE?!?_ )

At this point, Luz’s taste buds had become fairly in-random, letting her finally know what real appleblood tasted like! Thankfully, it was the one thing on the entire Isles that was actually LESS gross then the name suggested; mostly just a slightly more tangy version of apple cider, though with a slightly metallic aftertaste if you drank too much at once.

Unfortunately for Edric, his taste buds were still screwey; sometimes he looked content after a short sip, but other times he looked as if he was about to spit it right out.

“Bleh,” Edric said, wiping his tongue. “Hey, how long is this supposed to last again?”

Luz scrunched up her face in concentration. “Hmmmm...I think Viney said a couple hours, but that was for a drop...I think you may actually need a healer for the amount I put in...whoops.”

Edric just smirked and shook his head. “Don’t sweat it! Ya got me good, Luz. Not bad.”

For a second, Luz thought she saw the glint of a mischievous plan forming in Emira’s eyes...but if she spent too long looking at them, she’d blush, so she looked away quickly.

The next hour or so was spent just with the four wandering around Bonesburough, the older blight siblings leading Luz and Amity to all the loveliest hidden corners, sipping their smoothies, and laughing at Edric whenever he’d clearly tasted something fowl. The star filled night sky and the dull lights in people's homes gave an almost romantic mood, and Luz couldn’t help but occasionally glance over at Emira, a small part of her brain wondering if they were both thinking about how romantic the night was, and wondering again if maybe she wouldn’t mind being alone with Luz for it...

After a time, as Ed and Em debated which of them was actually the older sibling (something Amity stated was actually common in their household), Luz looked noticed Amity’s hands wrapped around herself, her body lightly shaking as a gust of wind hit the two Hexside students.

“You cold, Amity,” Luz asked, concerned. 

Amity nodded. “Eh. A bit. This dress, it’s lovely for dancing, but it’s not exactly good at protecting against the elements.”

Something inside of Luz knew exactly what she had to do.

It may not have been the most well thought out thing to do, but that wasn’t really something that ever stopped her before.

First, Luz flipped her hood back, revealing her once gelled out hair to have returned to its normal messy state. Then, she reached behind her back and searched for her otter costumes zipper, spending a few seconds aimlessly grasping before finally grabbing it and pulling it down.

Amity glanced over and began to turn crimson. “L-Luz?” 

Luz was able to push the top half of her costume down and around her waist, and soon she had successfully wiggled her way out of it entirely. Now, she stood in her tutux, complete with its jacket, which was what Luz had been searching for. 

“Uhm, well, you just, you know, seemed cold,” Luz said, shrugging her shoulders as she began to gingerly remove the long-sleeved coat from them. “And, uh, I thought, ‘Hey, Luz, can’t just let your friend stand around shivering, right?’” 

Now, Luz did something only a true, honest friend would do.

She, in a very friendly way, took her jacket into her hands, politely walked over to Amity, and platonically put her coat over the green haired witches shoulders.

“So, yeah. Just thought you could use this.”

Amity turned away from Luz. “Th-thanks,” she mumbled out. 

Luz felt like kicking herself. _Stupid, stupid Luz,_ she angrily thought. _Now she’s embarrassed. Probably thinks you have a crush on her or something._

When Luz tore her eyes away from Amity, she saw that the twins had stopped their bickering to watch the two friends and their strange little display. Luz couldn’t help but bite her lip bashfully as she went back to grab her onesie, folding it up. “Uh, sorry about that.” 

The twins merely looked back at each other and smirked. “Oh, you’re ok,” Emira stated. “I can take that for ya, if you’d like. Get it washed up and back to you Monday. Sound cool?”

“Sure,” Luz said, nodding sheepishly. She held out the outfit as Emira walked over, taking it from her hands ( _OHMYTITANDIDOURHANDSJUSTTOUCH!?!_ ) and, spinning a tiny spell circle, threw it into a small, black hole.

“So, Luz,” Emira began, inquisitively. “Mind if I ask a personal question?”

“Uh, heh, sure,” Luz stammered out. “I’m pretty much an open book. Just ask-”

“Did your date stand you up too?”

Luz was grateful she’d finished her smoothie earlier. Otherwise, she’d be choking on it.

“WHAT,” Luz asked, unable to hide her shock. “I-I mean, I, uh, no, they didn’t. I mean, no one-”

“Leave her alone,” Amity snapped, finishing up sliding her arms into Luz’s coat. “Not a chance anyone would have even THOUGHT about ditching Luz like you two.” She seemed genuinely indignant, as if she honestly believed it. “She probably has someone back home who just couldn’t make it.”

Luz’s face dropped, and she looked down. “Actually...no. I don’t.”

The three Blights turned to Luz and stared at her. Each of them appeared to be a combination of surprised and confused. “Re-really,” Amity asked, bewildered.

Luz nodded. “Yeah. Where I come from...well, I’m kind of a weirdo. I mean, I guess I sort of am, bringing live snakes for a book report and all but…” 

She could feel tears start to form in the corners of her eyes. “I dunno. I always thought people liked it when you go the extra mile, add a little flair...but everyone just thinks I’m a freak. Which sucks twice as hard cause, well, being bi, you’d think I’d have twice the dating pool, ya know?” She chuckled weakly. “I guess...I guess I just like everybody. And nobody likes me.”

Luz rubbed her eyes, trying to stop the tears from flowing. “Sorry, sorry. Man, night air sure is dusty, huh?” 

She suddenly felt a crushing weight against her midriff, and Luz opened her eyes to see Amity wrapping her up in a hug so tight it reminded her of her _mami_. “Luz, I’m so, so sorry…”

Edric walked up next to Luz and rubbed her back, smiling encouragingly. “Eh, humans wouldn’t know who’s cool if it teleported right in front of them. I, on the other hand, know it the moment I see it. And Luz, I gotta say, you’re the second coolest person I know.”

Luz raised an eyebrow. “Who’s the first?”

Edric smirked. “Oh, just some guy I see every morning in the mirror.”

Luz chuckled as both Blight girls rolled their eyes. “But really, Luz,” Emira stated, “it’s their loss.” She wrapped herself around her sister and Luz, collecting them all into one big bear hug. “Those losers don’t know what they’re missing.”

Luz looked up at Em, her face just inches from hers. “You...you really think so?”

Emira nodded. “Oh, totally.” 

“Any guy would be lucky to date ya, Luz,” said Edric.

“Or girl,” Emira noted. She winked before letting go of her friends.

For the first time that night, Luz could fully hide the fact that she had briefly devolved into a terrible, sputtering mess.

“Heh. Thanks, guys.” She looked down at Amity, who still had her arms around the human. If anything, Amity’s grip had only gotten tighter. Luz wrapped her own arms around Amity and hugged the witch tightly. “It...it means alot.”

Emira and Edric nodded. “Hope it helped,” Emira said, with a note of genuine sympathy in her voice. Then, as if a switch had been pulled, her face turned mischievous. “Well, Ed, I think we’ve had our share of sappy emotions for the night, wouldn’t you agree?”

Edric nodded, a smirk crossing his face. “Oh, I agree, Em. I think it’s time for us to bid you adieu, Luz.” With the expert flourish only a true illusion witch could muster, Edric bowed low to the human. “Me and Em have some chaos to watch unfold.”

Amity finally let go of Luz and sighed, looking down at the ground, as if...disappointed. “I guess I’ll have to get going to-”

“Nope,” Emira stated, shaking her head. “You, Mittens, are gonna stay and help take cutie here back home.”

“WHAT,” Amity asked, eyes wide and red faced. “But-”

“No buts,” Edric cut her off. “She’s your fearless champion, right? You gotta make sure she gets home safe to fight another day.”

Amity glared up at her brother. “You KNOW about that?!?”

Edric only smirked. “I promised I wouldn’t expose your diary. Didn’t say anything about reading it.”

Luz could see Amity gritting her teeth and clenching her fists. “You little-”

Luz, hoping to calm her good friend down, placed her hand on Amity’s back and lightly rubbed. “It’s ok, Ami.” She then wrapped her up in another hug, this time whispering into her ear “I’ll help ya get him later, promise.”

Stepping back, Luz could see Amity’s face had gone completely red, her eyes wide by the sudden contact. “Uh, er, heh, um, th-thanks Luz,” she stammered out, turning away from her and looking out towards a nearby alleyway that cut through to the forest. “Let’s get going then,” she said as she began to sprint away.

Luz turned back to the twins, who smirked and eyed each other, as if they both knew a secret Luz wasn’t in on.

“Well, I guess I’ll see ya both later then, huh,” she asked, raising a hand to wave them away. “Uh, bye Ed. Bi Em.” Then, thinking she’d slipped up, shouted “I MEAN BYE!”

If the two noticed Luz’s odd add on, they didn’t make it clear. “Later Luz,” Edric said, turning to wave at her.

“Later cutie! Have a good rest of the night with Mittens,” Emira added. She turned and, for what was probably the thousandth time that night, made Luz’s heart practically stop with a wink.

Luz didn’t want Emira to see her feeling like a fool, and so she rushed away as fast as she could to get to Amity.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After catching up with Amity, neither she or Luz said much of anything for the first part of their walk to the Owl House. They didn’t even seem to want to look at each other. Luz had a pretty good idea as to why Amity wouldn’t want to.

_She’s still mad about me getting her kicked out…_

She knew she’d messed up. Even if Amity had been able to hide her anger when they were with the twins, Luz knew Amity had every right to be upset with her over it, and as she shivered, she wasn’t sure if it was more because of the chill in the night air ( _Really should have kept that warm onesie_ ) or Amity’s apparent cold shoulder.

Finally, after what felt like hours of silence that was probably more like fifteen minutes, Luz sighed.

“I’m sorry,” she stated, as simply as she could. 

Amity turned, blinking in confusion. “What? Why would you-”

“For...for getting you kicked out, and for dragging you into that dumb prank, and for keeping you from asking your crush to dance…”

Amity looked away again. “Yeah...I was hoping to…”

Luz sighed. “I...honestly, I just kinda wanted to hang out with you more. I was selfish and-”

Amity smiled and let out a small chuckle. “Luz, it’s fine. Really. I...I had a lot of fun with you. And besides, I’m not...not even sure I could confess to them still.”

Luz raised an eyebrow at that. “Mind if I ask why?”

Amity seemed to freeze at the question. “Well...it’s just…” she sighed. “They’re just...they’re just really special,” she said, gazing off into the distance, a dreamy look in her eye. “Me and...them, we haven’t known each other very long, but they’ve made me feel things, things I’ve never felt before.” She chuckled. “They can be a bit dense, a little over the top, but that just makes them so much more special.” She breathed out a deep, content sigh. “And...and they saw something in me, something I hadn’t seen in myself for so long. A part of me that made me a kind person, a decent person.” Amity shook her head. “You can’t just tell someone like that you like them. You have to...you have to figure it out how best to tell them, you know?”

Luz couldn’t help but feel something in her gut, something hard and sharp, though not entirely physical. She knew all too well how Amity felt, mainly because of her time back at home.

Luz nodded. “I get that, yeah…”

She couldn’t help but wonder, though, who Amity had fallen so hard for. Who was the lucky guy who’d taken the bravest, coolest person Luz knew and turned her into such a nervous wreck? She couldn’t think of any guys Amity hung out with a lot. Well, maybe Gus, but there were a few different reasons Luz didn’t really think too seriously about that idea.

_Well, if Ed and Em had gotten dates with Glandus students, maybe he goes there?_

Even though it had been a completely innocent thought, thinking about Em was certainly NOT helping Luz’s current state. Remembering her brought back the memories of laughing together at Grom, of Luz, in her silly otter costume, wanting to just reach out and…

Luz began to blink.

_Otter costume…._

“GAHHHHH,” Luz cried out, causing Amity to jump. Luz smacked her forehead in frustration. “I forgot to grab my photo of me in my otter costume! Well that sucks! Now it’s probably gone forever, and I’ll never have a keepsake of a time I dressed as an otter for a school dance...” She sighed, looking at the ground. “Sorry again. Dumb thing to get upset over, but-”

Amity stared at Luz for a moment, a look of confusion on her face before understanding dawned on her. “Oooooooh...uh...actually, I um...I have it.”

Luz blinked and looked up. “Wait, really?”

Amity nodded vigorously. “Yeah. I saw it coming from the camera, and I was gonna give it to you, but the twins, they pranked me and I forgot and I’m sorry and I’m rambling now I’ll just grab the picture.” She let out a wide smile, the sort that, had Luz not known Amity better, she would have mistaken for nervousness. The pointy eared witch dug into her pocket, the same one she pulled her Grom note from, and pulled out a folded up photo.

“Wow,” Luz said, taking the photo from her friend, smiling. “Thanks Amity! I owe ya one.” 

“Heh, eh, what are friends for,” Amity mumbled. 

Luz unfolded the picture. Sure enough, there she was, giving her cutest, brightest eyes as she held her hands up to resemble the adorable way otters tended to hold their own arms. Luz couldn’t help but smile. It was really cute.

Except…

“Huh,” Luz muttered. “Looks like the photo was ripped in half or something. The right side seems to be missing.”

“Oh, darn,” Amity hissed out, snapping her fingers. “Well, maybe Grom got it, ya know? I mean, that is sort of their thing, right? Ripping up important pieces of paper?” She chuckled, and now even Luz sensed a little bit of nervousness in her voice.

“Or, well, maybe it got caught in the camera when it was coming out…”

Amity blushed a deep crimson and turned her head away from Luz. “Or, well...that too.”

Luz bit her lip, falling deep into thought. _Grom must have spooked her more than I thought…_ They stood there a moment, Luz wondering if there was anything she could think of that could help her friend feel better, to help remove that fear from her mind.

And then, she had it!

“Hey,” Luz began, “I know I don’t know who your crush is...but I think I know how they’d react if you told them how you felt.”

Amity raised an eyebrow quizzically. “Oh?”

Luz nodded. “Yeah! Just, I’ll pretend to be your crush, and you pretend you’re confessing to me, ok? And I’ll show you exactly how they’d react!”

Amity suddenly turned as red as Mars. “Luz, I don't know…”

“Trust me, ok,” Luz asked, a small smile on her face. “Who knows, it might even help ya work up the courage to confess to them later.”

Amity thought for a second before nodding. “Well, I guess so…” Taking a deep, shaking breath, the young witch looked up at Luz, and muttered,

“I...I really, really like you Luz.”

For a moment, Luz forgot what she was going to say. In fact, she completely forgot this was supposed to be fake. The earnestness in Amity’s voice, the sad yet honest way she said it…

_It’s almost like she was ACTUALLY confessing to me…_

“Uhm, Luz...you ok?”

The human was snapped back to reality by the witch's worried tone. “Er, sorry, lost in thought for a moment.” Then, clearing her throat, she jumped and spread her legs out before crouching low. Putting her hands up to her hair, her eyes widened in shock, Luz frantically shouted, “AMITY BLIGHT LIKES ME!?!?” She began to pace back and forth, wildly flailing her hands. “AMITY FREAKING BLIGHT LIKES ME!?!?!?”

Luz saw Amity raise a hand to her mouth from the corner of her eye, suppressing a laugh. Luz felt a small swell of pride, and continued. “I DON’T BELIEVE IT! THE COOLEST, FUNNEST, MOST BEAUTIFULLEST GIRL ON THE BOILING ISLES LIKES ME!?!? ME, OF ALL PEOPLE!!!! WILD!!!”

Amity couldn’t suppress her laughter anymore and threw her head back. “HAHAH, OH TITAN LUZ, I CAN’T, I CANAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” At Amity’s final words, Luz spun to see the witch had lost her balance and fallen, back-of-the-head first, into a nearby bush. Luz rushed over, as fast as she could, to help her up.

“Amity, are you alright,” she rushed out, a note of fear in her voice. She held out a hand, hoping Amity would latch onto it. _Nice going Luz. Now if Amity gets hurt it’s YOUR stupid fault!_

“I’m fine, Luz, thanks,” Amity said, grasping Luz’s hand firmly. “Just got a little over excited is all.” Luz tried to pull Amity up, perhaps tugging a tad too hard. “Wait, Luz! Sto-” But it was too late; Luz had already tugged her out of the bush, and the momentum had thrown Amity directly into Luz. If the human had been any clumsier, she would have probably fallen and dragged them both down. 

Instead, Amity just clenched herself to Luz, arms wrapped around her like she was the only life preserver in the entirety of the ocean.

“Uhm, Amity,” Luz said, looking down slightly. “You O-”

The “K” died immediately in her throat. Amity was looking up at her, her golden eyes wide and filled with an adorable combination of embarrassment and a childish need for comfort. Her lips were slightly pursed, emphasising just how soft they seemed. She reminded Luz of a princess, the kind that, yes, could beat you up, but had this soft, sensitive center that they only ever showed off to the person they loved.

But it was Amity’s hair that really killed Luz.

Her signature poof that would stand up on the top of Amity’s head was gone, and with it any control the Blight had over her hair. It wasn’t very long, but it cascaded gently downwards, innocently over her jacket, the one Luz lent to her to keep her from getting cold. Some strands, though, had gotten onto her face; one on the left side of her cute nose, one slightly obfuscating her beautiful left eye, one strand directly touching her lips. Her very cute, very kissable

_NOPE._

_NOPE!_

_NOPENOPENOPENOPENOPENOPENOPENOPENOPENOPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_

Luz looked up from Amity and pushed her away, holding her at arm's length. “Uh, you’re hair...it uh…”

Amity shook her head gently before starting to grasp at some of the loose strands. “Yeah, I think the bush snagged my my hair band and-”

“I’LL FIND IT FOR YOU,” Luz interrupted. Getting into her hands and knees, she dug through the bush, frantically searching for any sign of the band as quickly as possible. 

_Don’t look back at cute Amity without her hair band, please, for the love of your bi little heart DON’T DO IT!_

Too late.

Luz found the band and, without thinking, said “Your hair band, princess.”

Amity stared at Luz in confusion. For a moment, Luz thought she’d made her sudden bout of panic known.

“Uhm, Luz...you aren’t planning on feeding me to a dragon, are you?”

Luz blinked and cocked her head. “What? Huh?”

“Princess. We used to have to round up some criminals from the Conformatorium and feed them to dragons. They were called princesses, so I just thought that’s what you meant.”

Lus shook her head. “OH NONONO! That isn’t...what I mean is...Where I come from, Princess is…”

Luz had to stop herself from stating _A pet name you give a cute girl you like._

“A title for, uh, royalty,” Luz finished, placing the band into Amity’s hands. “Yaknow, cause you’re a royal pain in the butt?” She elbowed Amity, trying to hide her terror with a small grin.

Amity just chuckled and shook her head. “Oh? Well, in that case, I think you’d make a better princess than me.” 

Luz shrugged. “Eh, they usually wear really cute dresses. I’m more a tuxedo gal myself.”

“With a tutu?”

Luz nodded. “Is there any better kind of tux then one that includes an adorable little tutu?”

And then Amity did something that broke Luz.

She laughed.

Now that she was able to just look at Amity without the need to pretend to be accepting her declaration of love (or trying to escape a demonic bunny creature), Luz could finally listen to it, really listen to Amity’s laugh. And it honestly sounded beautiful. It was an adorable, almost innocent laugh, one that contrasted with Amity’s hard exterior, one molded by her parents' strict and cruel upbringing. But they couldn’t kill her adorable, beautiful laugh.

Luz felt her cheeks lightly tinge pink before she looked away, frustrated with herself to no end.

_Stop, Luz! You know how this goes! You know what happens! Just because she’s a cute girl who used to be cold and aloof but now she’s opened up to you and she has that lovely hair and smile and...AGH! LUZ!_

“Hey,” Luz heard, a hand placing itself gently atop her shoulder. “Are you doing ok? You seem a bit out of it.”

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” Luz lied. “Totally cool!” She gave two thumbs up in the hopes of continuing the lie about how fine she was.

Amity nodded. “Ok...Oh, hey, I think I see the Owl House,” Amity said, pointing towards a clear spot through the foliage and woods. Sure enough, the strange, wild architecture of Luz’s new home away from home was visible. “I guess I should get going now then. I, uh...I had a lot of fun tonight, Luz. When we weren’t almost killed, I mean,” Amity chuckled ( _Titan, why does she have to chuckle so much tonight?!?_ ). Amity began to turn, but without thinking, Luz reached out and grabbed her hand.

“Uh, Amity, wait,” Luz said. She could feel a pang of guilt in the pit of her stomach, like so many she’d felt that night with Amity. After a heartfelt sigh, Luz tried to speak.

“Amity...I know tonight...it wasn’t what you wanted. You don’t have to lie to me if you don’t...look,I know it’s none of my business who this crush of yours is, but… I just thought you should know…”

“Y-yes, Luz?” Amity looked at her nervously, almost...scared, maybe? _Oh Titan, she thinks I’m about to confess I like her and make things weird and ruin everything because I, bilingual Luz Noceda, have no ability to just say ANYTHING!!!!_

Luz let a small, weak smile cross her face. “Amity, I just thought you should know that, whoever they are…your crush…he’s a real lucky guy.” 

Something changed in Amity’s eyes. The nervousness dulled, but it almost looked like it was replaced with...Luz didn’t know what...maybe...disappointment?

_Yeah right, Noceda. You’re going too soft._

Whatever it was, Amity didn’t seem to make it apparent anywhere else on her face. “Yeah...they are.” She stepped back and took off Luz’s suit jacket, handing it back to her before turning away. She started to tie her hair back with its usual little poof. “You, Luz...you get some rest, ok? I’ll see you Monday.”

Luz nodded, putting her suit coat back on. “Yeah. You too, ok? Don’t wanna hear you got yourself detention for sleeping in class!”

But Amity didn’t respond. She just walked away, solemnly.

Luz just stood there, not sure what to do or say or even think. She just watched Amity leave her, walking away, further and further, until Luz couldn’t see anything of her at all. As if she hadn’t been there.

She stayed that way for five minutes, and might have stayed standing there longer if the baddest witch on the Boiling Isles and her roommate didn’t pop up from behind, clapping her on the back. 

“Hey kid,” Eda laughed, “You have fun tonight?”

“Uh, yeah,” Luz said, a little surprised, a little out of it. “I had fun, yeah.”

“Great. Oh, and don’t worry, no one offered me a good enough price for the tiara, soooo,” Eda trailed off, pulling the tiara out of her coat pocket and placing it atop Luz’s head. “TADA,” She proclaimed.

“MINE,” King shrieked, launching himself towards Luz’s head, only to overshoot and smack himself right into a tree. The little demon collapsed onto the floor, mumbling about how “I almost had it that time.”

“Now, lets getcha inside to celebrate,” Eda proclaimed. Luz was silent as she followed her friends back to the Owl House (Hooty was asleep, so they had no interruptions getting in). “Wooh,” Eda declared as they stepped inside. “Watch out for this human,” she said, pointing towards a sullen Luz as if she wasn’t the only human on the entire Isles. “Ah, you did good, kid.”

“Thanks,” Luz said, half paying attention. “But, I’m gonna go to bed.” Tossing aside the tiara, Luz walked upstairs, ignoring King’s declaration of himself now being ‘Best of both things’ as she sat at her windowsill, staring out into the vastness of the Isles ocean. 

“In the end,” she thought allowed, “I couldn’t actually face my mom. Maybe I am fragile.”

_Not like that’s the ONLY thing on my mind right now…_

Suddenly, her phone went off.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luz tossed and turned a bit, trying to put her mind at rest. Even if she hadn’t been able to entirely fess up the truth to her mom, at least now she could talk to her instead of just keep on running.

_So why can’t I sleep?_

_Oh, right. Because of...that._

_The whole Amity thing._

Luz sighed and turned to face the roof of her room. She slightly raised her head from its pillow and slammed it back down, groaning in frustration.

“Urgh. Why can’t I get her face out of my mind. That adorable face…”

She thought of Amity’s face, so close to hers, as Luz held her tightly, so tightly. Even without meaning to, Luz seemed to have memorized every inch of Amity’s face from that moment, as if she was as clear a photograph as Luz’s otter suite picture…

_But there HAS to be a different reason then me falling for her, right? I can't fall for someone who doesn’t like girls._

_Not again..._

Luz laid there, trying to think of any reason for why she could be feeling this way for her, rolling through the possibilities, one by one.

_Barcus or the twins slipping me a love potion?_

_Nah. They can be a bit flexible with morality, but that’s too low even for them._

_Some sort of revenge from Bat Boy, casting a spell on me or something?_

_Nope. Probably would have seen the loser from a mile away._

Luz sighed and gritted her teeth, trying desperately to think of something, ANYTHING, that could explain why she was feeling this way…

_Maybe you’re just projecting your feelings for Em onto her?_

Luz blinked. _Hmmmm…_

_Yeah, that makes sense! After all, you fell for Em first, right? And you only began noticing how cute Amity was AFTER she left! Perhaps you’re just putting your feelings from Em to Amity because they’re so alike!_

“Huh...yeah, yeah, that makes sense,” Luz muttered to herself, feeling a lot better. “I guess that DOES explain it, huh? Thanks brain, you always have the best ideas.”

_Anytime,_ she jokingly thought to herself.

Luz closed her eyes and smiled, now ready to sleep without thinking about Amity.

Her wonderful, fun, adorable, platonic friend Amity.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next few weeks were a bit of a fast-paced blur for Luz; after convincing Principal Bump to apologize for kicking her out of Grom for her costume and altering the rules to allow SOME costumes (granted she had some help from a VERY intimidating Owl Lady, but still), Luz had to help Willow with beating her bully Boscha in a game of Grudgby. Unfortunately, they lost (though Boscha had been laying low thankfully ever sense, hopefully not in a creepy, lying in wait for revenge kinda way), and Amity had hurt her leg in the process. So badly, in fact, that even after some intense healing spells, she’d be in a cast for a few weeks, spending most of her time in bed, something that Luz couldn’t help but feel both guilty and sad about.

Mostly because of how Amity had gotten hurt, of course, not because she liked her a lot and would miss her super terribly or anything.

After that, there was this whole thing with Emperor Belos, and Eda losing her powers and her sister Lilith moving into the Owl House, but Luz didn’t like to dwell too much on that.

And then after that...well, not much.

Fewer demons kept getting unleashed to wreck potential havoc on the Isles. Eda’s rivals stopped trying to destroy Luz. Eda even started cooking things that were actually dead, just for Luz, so she didn’t even have to fight her own stomach anymore. It was all nice. But…

“ _URGH_ ,” Luz groned to herself, slamming her face into a desk Eda had scrounged up for her to do homework on. It wasn’t her homework that was getting to Luz though.

_Emira…_

Luz’s thoughts kept drifting back to the older Blight girl. Ever since Grom, the two had unfortunately only seen each other in the hallways, often with Em bringing Ed to the healers (“I keep slipping Tongue Twister into his drinks! And he keeps falling for it,” Emira once laughed at with Luz), occasionally stopping to chat about what was going on in their lives and if Amity was feeling ok and when Amity would be back and whatnot. It was a double edged sword; on one hand, not talking to Em a lot allowed Luz to not embarrass herself. But on the other, it meant she didn’t get to talk to her and maybe see if she could tell if Em liked her too. It left Luz in a tricky spot.

“Do I tell her,” Luz thought out loud. “I should, shouldn’t I? It’s not healthy to keep your feelings bottled up. Maybe I should. Could I…”

Then, words Amity had stated at Grom crept into her head. 

_You can’t just tell someone like that you like them. You have to...you have to figure it out how best to tell them, you know_

It made Luz sit up straight, the gears in her head turning.

_Hmmmm...well, I don’t think Em’s gotten a girlfriend since Grom, and she hasn’t mentioned anything about crushes or feelings for anyone else. Maybe I could work something out with my friends? But what if I wait too long, spend too much time thinking about it? Maybe figure out a schedule? OH, TOMORROW AMITY COMES BACK! MAYBE I CAN ASK IF SHE CAN HELP WITH THAT! SHE’S AWESOME WITH-_

Luz stopped and slumped over. Even if she was absolutely 110 percent certain any and all feelings for Amity were just projection, it still hurt to think about telling her about liking her sister.

_Is that more or less awkward then having a crush on Amity herself?_

_Wait, I meant then IF I HAD a crush on Amity?_

Luz sighed and flopped back into her chair. _What can I do? I need to think of something. If I can’t figure out what I can do soon, then…_

And then Luz remembered something else Amity had said at Grom. 

Something that made Luz realize why she kept thinking she really REALLY liked her, and made her realize that maybe Amity would be absolutely vital in helping her confess to Em.

 _Let’s just hope she says yes,_ Luz thought.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day, after the final scream of the bell, Luz stood at the corner by the hallway Amity’s locker was in. Peeking over it, she could see Amity goading her locker into giving her the books that she needed for her homework that night. Luz hadn’t seen her all day, despite hoping to. Amity and her had radically different schedules on Monday’s, so they couldn’t see each other unless they looked for the other person. Breathing deep, Luz stepped from the corner and walked over to Amity, attempting to surprise her with the biggest hug she could.

“AMI,” Luz said, throwing her arms around the Blight and squeezing them hard around her.

Amity let out a squeak of surprise before turning to see the culprit of her latest hug attack (honestly, the only culprit to ever be responsible for them). “L-Luz,” she said. “Uh, hi! Haven’t seen you since, you know, the Owl House and stuff…”

The crimson look on Amity’s face made Luz realize she’d embarrassed the poor girl. She knew she shouldn’t have hugged her, it was just...she was nice to hug, Luz guessed.

“Ok,” she began “So, Amity, I was wondering if I could tell you something. Something kinda important…”

Amity stiffened and sputtered. “Uh, yeah, sure. W-what do you wanna say?”

Luz took another deep, airy breathe and asked;

“Do you remember what you said? At Grom? About how there are important people in our lives who help us face our fears?”

Amity bit her lip and nodded. “Well, uh, yeah, actually. Why-”

“Well, when you were gone, I got to thinking, ‘Huh, I don’t know if I have one of those.’ Like, I have people I care about who help me, but I didn’t have THAT ONE PERSON, ya know?”

Amity raised an eyebrow. “I mean, I was just saying stuff to distract people. It wasn’t true.”

“But it IS,” Luz explained, taking Amity’s hands in hers. “Because… I realize now, Amity. You’re that person for me!” She looked up and smiled at Amity. Perhaps a tad more sheepishly then intended. “You and I, we’ve been through alot together, and even if you weren’t always...the best, you eventually became one of my best friends. And I think...I think, after Grom and everything, that you’re the person to help me face my fears.”

  
Looking up, Luz could see Amity smiling a little, her eyes gleaming.  
  
“R-really? I’m the one who helps you face your fears, huh?”

Luz nodded. “Even when I know it’ll probably make you wanna throttle me like the first time we met.”

Amity’s smile grew bigger. “Luz, that’s so-” Then, she stopped talking and raised an eyebrow. “Uhhhhhhhh, wait what?”

Luz grabbed Amity’s tiny little adorable hand and dragged her off. “I’ll tell ya in a minute,” Luz explained. “Right now, I just need to talk about this. Somewhere privately.”

Luz turned away from Amity and ran to the nearest abandoned classroom. She knew she was being rash. Being stupid. If Amity wasn’t up to help Luz, then she might even hate Luz enough to never speak to her again.

But she was what gave Luz the courage to face her biggest fears. If Amity hadn't been there with her at Grom, she couldn’t have faced The Fear Bringer. And if she hadn’t have walked with Luz back home, she wouldn’t have been able to text her mom.

Luz knew she was being reckless, possibly even endangering her friendship with Amity.

And the idea of losing her made Luz’s heart ache.

But she would need all the courage she could muster. 

You really need it when you’re falling for a Blight.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special Edit: If you like the new awesome art, I commisioned it from my awesome friend Marisol, or amitylovmail on instagram. check her out here! (https://www.instagram.com/amitylovemail/)
> 
> Hey guys! Sorry the chapters so late. I was hoping to finish it sooner into my christmas break, but the story ran away from me. In fact, this was originally just meant to be a few minor flashbacks to Grom, and the main bulk of the piece would have been what will soon be Chapter 3. Instead, it became so long that one of the scenes that was going to be here is actually going to be the opening to the next chapter, and I had to add another to the story. Yay to my inability to write anything short… (Also, side note: if you saw this chapter was added yesterday and deleted, that’s because apparently there’s a stupid glitch that can screw up fic’s: Uploading them between 12 AM and 5 AM UTC Time doesn’t let them show up at the top of the fic list like it should. Even manually changing the date only does so much, and it only ended up in the middle of the second page when I did that. To actually inform more people of the work, I deleted the chapter and reuploaded it as soon as I felt safe to do so. Please don’t make the same mistake I did.) 
> 
> Also, I now am on social media! I plan to use them mainly for updates on my work, to show off the occasional TOH commission I may buy, to display additional sneak peeks, and perhaps to even shout out other TOH fics I feel deserve more love. My main one is Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/desmondkaneofao3fame/?hl=en), as that's where I post first, but I also have a Tumblr (https://desmondkaneofao3fame.tumblr.com/), a Twitter (https://twitter.com/DesmondKane7), and even a Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/desmond.kane.771/). 
> 
> And now, the moment you've all been waiting for; A sneak peek at Chapter 3:
> 
> "And the best part is," Boscha cackled, "you lost out...to a BEASTKEEPER!" The three-eyed witch threw her head back and practically howled like a coyote. "The only thing lamer then...well, I guess whatever you are," she choked out through her hysterical laughing.
> 
> Luz clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. She had never liked being violent, but punching Boscha seemed like a good idea. She wasn't mad about the potions student bullying Luz. But now, she was picking on, no, OUTING Viney and Emira. And she couldn't let that stand. 
> 
> Digging into her pockets, Luz pulled out her glyph notebook and flipped to the nearest fire glyph. She knew she'd probably get suspended for starting a fight on school grounds, but Luz was so angry she didn't care. She could use a vacation. And Boscha could use a trip to the Healers office.
> 
> Luz tore the paper out, thought of something witty to say to Boscha,
> 
> Then stopped.
> 
> Behind the still laughing witch, three people, three very, VERY angry people, stood, as if they'd teleported silently. Viney, Edric, and
> 
> And Emira
> 
> They were glaring down at Boscha. In fact, the looks they gave her were the closest Luz had ever seen to anyone legitimately glaring daggers at somebody. Arms crossed over their chests, they looked nothing like the usual happy-go-lucky pranksters Luz was friends with. They looked more like fierce deities about to smite a non-believer, if anything.
> 
> "Boscha," Emira growled. "Back. Off."
> 
> Luz froze entirely. She knew Emira wasn't planning on hurting Luz, but her tone was so serious, so enraged, so opposite to everything Luz knew the illusion student to be, that it scared even her.
> 
> Boscha turned, clearly panicked by the interruption. "Who said-oh," she muttered. "It's just you." Boscha snapped her fingers. "Come along, girls. I think our work here is done." Boscha smirked as she spun back to face Luz. Striding next to her, she blatantly, deliberately bumped into her shoulder. "I better get going," Boscha whispered, a cold smirk crossing her lips. "I think your girlfriend's calling."
> 
> I hope you enjoyed that. Stay safe, and I wish you all a happy 1 year anniversary of TOH. Let's hope the next chapter comes out before the next anniversary.


	3. Reconciling with a Blight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz doesn't want to deal with her problems...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy everyone! Hope you all are having a good day and are ready to have your hearts broken by smol sapphic witches. I hope I can satisfy your thirst for angst, but if not, there's a surprise in the end notes that I feel should make a lot of you happy. A few of them actually. So read on, enjoy, and stick around.

It was a Monday when Luz came out.

She sat at the kitchen counter next to a hungry and demanding King in a little high chair, fidgeting with her silverware and waiting for Eda to slap something (hopefully edible) onto her plate. Looking up, she saw Eda attempting to fix something inside of her cauldron, whistling a tune that sounded like a mix of an ancient magical chant and a particularly lively sea shanty. Luz kept glancing between her plate and her recently heterochromatic instructor, trying to look as if she didn’t have anything on her mind.

And failing miserably.

“Kid,” Eda asked, smacking a tentacled beast with a large wooden spoon as it cried out in the throes of death, “Everything okay? Ya look like your pet just got thrown in a boiling cauldron or something.”

“Hm,” Luz asked, raising her eyes up to Eda. “Oh, uhm, I’m fine, Eda. Just thinking.”

“Yeah, like I am,” King stated. “Thinking about EATING.” King slammed his tiny fists, clenched over silverware, onto the table and glared up at his roommate. “C’mon, Eda! Give us the bits!”

Eda ignored him and, after a death blow to her little beast, turned back to Luz, leaning back on the countertop. “Alright, kid,” she said, holding up her “30 and Flirty” mug and taking a sip of apple blood from it. “What's up? And don’t try to weasel your way out of this,I ain’t finishing breakfast till I know what’s wrong.”

King looked up at Luz with wide, pleading eyes. “WHAT? OK, THERAPY TIME, LUZ, PLEASE! LET ME EAT, I’M STARVING!”

“You had a bowl of cereal five minutes ago, princess,” Eda muttered before taking a long sip of her apple blood and eyeing up her apprentice-turned-mentor to see what she would say.

Luz took in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. _Alright Luz. You got this. It’s EDA for crying out loud. She’d never...well, DO anything BAD if you tell her. And if you start dating Em, she’s gonna have to know anyway. Everything’s gonna be fine._

Still, old fears…

“Uh...so, Eda,” Luz began,trying to sound casual as she felt her chest tighten. “Mind if I ask a...weird question?”

“No, you can’t eat King yet.”

Luz tilted her head. “Eat King?”

“YET,” King asked, focusing more on that particular word. “YET?!? WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY YET EDA!!!! WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY-”

Eda cut him off with a pacifier before turning back to Luz. “Sorry. Just thought of the weirdest question I could. You were saying?” 

“How do you feel about...er, gay relationships?”

“Oh, I don’t trust them.”

Luz was somewhat shocked, but after a second, she was more confused than anything. “Uh, what? I don’t-”

“Oh, sure,” Eda began, “when you start off, you’re all so gay and happy, that lovely little honeymoon phase.” Eda went back to making her meal as her rant continued. “You’re stealing rich people's cars by moonlight, scamming suckers for their diamond rings, real romantic stuff! But then the relationship drags on, and things turn south. First they tell you they don’t wanna rob another ‘shiny’ store, then they tell you we’ve been banned from another state, and next thing you know you gotta throw the loser back into his world on their butt after they try to stuff and mount your freaking house demon for his stupid tourist trap! I mean, sure, Hooty’s annoying, but do ya REALLY have to kill him?”

“AWWWW JEEZ,” the long cylindrical creature said, having slithered his long neck (body? Luz still wasn’t sure) into the back door. “THANKS EDA! HOOT HOOT!”

Eda began to slap Hooty with her spoon until he took the hint and, with a last HOOT, slithered away.

“If you decided to date someone without a criminal record,” a voice drawled out behind Luz, “you may have a somewhat better view of relationships.” 

Luz turned to see a very tired, very annoyed Lilith Clawthorne, the Owl Houses latest resident and custodian, wearing an oversized ‘Burger Queen’ shirt, fuzzy, duck covered pajama pants, and dog slippers. She had a copy of _Pride and Pythius_ tucked under her left arm, a mug filled with elixir emblazoned with ‘Bad Girl Coven’ in her right, and an _It’s too early for this_ death glare to her sister. 

“Well, Lily,” Eda commented without skipping a beat, “if YOU actually went on dates and got your nose out of those cheesy paperback romance novels, you’d have a much more realistic view of them.”

Lilith responded by throwing her novel at Eda’s face. The younger Clawthorne just cackled and threw the book into her cauldron.

As Lilith and Eda started what had become a daily ritual of wrestling each other before breakfast, Luz’s mind, so desensitized to it by this point, returned to Eda’s strange point about relationships before she realized what the older witch had meant.

“OH,” Luz shouted, “you thought...Eda, I didn’t mean, like, just ‘happy relationships’. I meant...something else.” 

Eda looked up from her struggling sister, now in a headlock, and raised an eyebrow. “Huh?”

“Like, ok, let’s say a guy maybe wants to date another guy…” Luz took in a deep breath and finally just said it. “Or...a girl wanted to date another girl…”

Lilith stopped struggling long enough to look up at Luz, a look of confusion on her face. “What on Titan does that mean,” Lilith asked. “Why would you have to ask that?”

King, spitting out his pacifier, nodded. “Yeah, Luz. That seems like a pretty dumb thing to ask. Isn’t everyone in your world-”

“Alright,” Eda interrupted, holding her sister and dragging her outside. “Girl talk time between apprentice and teacher. You two, outta here.”

“But-” Lilith tried to interject, but Eda just tossed her out the back door before grabbing a struggling King, terrified he was about to be thrown into the pot, out with her. Then, after pulling down the curtains, Eda turned to Luz with as serious an expression the human had ever seen on the woman’s face.

“So...ya like girls huh?”

Luz gulped but nodded. “Well, guys too...but… mostly girls. Like, guys are cute but girls are just...heh. Ya know?”

Eda nodded, a smirk crossing her face. Then, walking over to the fridge, she pulled out a container of apple blood, dug through the cupboards, and pulled out a cup with a mugshot of Eda on it. 

“Apple blood,” Eda asked, pouring the carton into the cup and handing it to her young protege.

Luz stared in disbelief before accepting the cup. The only thing Eda was more protective of then Luz was her apple blood. She didn’t understand why she was being so generous today. “Thanks,” she muttered as she took a sip. It tasted pretty much the same as it had when she tried it at Grom, though this time without the smoothie thickness.

“Eh, don’t get used to it,” Eda said, dragging in a real, non-high chair and taking a seat beside Luz. “But I thought today...well, whatcha just did….I’m proud of ya.”

Luz blushed. “Lilith and King didn’t seem that impressed.”

“Lilith and King haven’t visited the human realm,” Eda said, a tone of pain, anger, and regret in her voice. “For them, it’s no big deal. It’s not really a huge thing on the Isles. Most witches don’t care about who ya love. I’ve dated men, women, demons, triangles, demonic triangles.” She snorted. “Now THAT was a weird one.” She turned to Luz. “But you, humans, well...I know it can be hard.” She put a hand on Luz’s back and gave her a small smile. “So...thanks. For trusting me with it, I mean. And, er, sorry I sort of forced it out of you.”

Luz smiled back and threw her arms around Eda, who at this point had gotten used to, though never numb to, her hugs. “Thanks, Eda. Don’t feel bad though. I wanted to tell you, I did. It’s just, there’s this girl from school I really like and I was nervous because I didn’t know how you guys all felt about it here and...well, it was kinda silly now, I guess.”

“Eh, a bit,” Eda admitted, tousling Luz’s messy mop of spiky brown hair. “But don’t worry. Being silly’s part of your charm.” She hugged Luz back and squeezed tight. 

After a minute, she let go and gently shoved Luz away. “Aight, kid, mushy times over. I got an older sister to beat in wrestling for the thousandth time, and you got a Blight girl to confess to.”

Luz could feel her cheeks go supernova. “Uh, heh, er, wha? How did you…”

“I got eyes, don’t I,” Eda said, winking at her apprentice. “If it helps, I think she likes ya too.” Then, with a chuckle, she continued. “And besides, you wouldn’t be the first girl in the house to fall for a Blight. Just ask Lilith about Odal-”

Eda was thrown to the ground by a very angry Lilith who, now back inside, began to throttle her sister. “WE PROMISED TO NEVER SPEAK OF HER AGAIN,” she hissed, enraged.

Eda just laughed. “But it’s too funny not to!”

As the siblings continued to fight and claw at each other, Luz couldn’t help but smile. She picked herself up with a newfound vigor and stepped out the back door, ready to take on the day.

_If Eda thinks Em likes me,_ Luz thought, _maybe I really DO have a chance!_

For the first time since Eda’s capture, Luz truly felt like she could take on anything.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luz liked science. A lot. Maybe not as much as magic, of course, but she still enjoyed doing little science experiments sometimes. For instance, she recently had a hypothesis; falling for a girl you were only good friends with, as opposed to amazing friends with, would make it less painful if you were rejected, since it meant you didn’t have much to lose.

In reality, it made it hurt even more, because you felt like an idiot for thinking she would have ever said yes.

...Luz decided to stick with magic.

After Amity and Willow left Luz backstage, she spent the next fifteen minutes sitting their, knees pulled up to her chest, arms wrapped around them, silently cursing herself for being so stupid.

_Nice going, Noceda. You finally, FINALLY, meet a girl who likes girls, and you’re too reckless to even think ‘Hey, MAYBE someone this cute and funny and gay is out of your league? MAYBE?’_

Luz wiped her red, weary eyes. She’d cried out as much as she felt she could, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t still miserable. She knew, though, if she didn’t head home soon, Eda would probably be worried sick about her (no matter how much she pretended otherwise). So she shakily shoved herself off of the floor and, taking a deep breath, slowly walked out of the gym. Thankfully, there didn’t appear to be anyone else in the school at this point so

“LUZ,” Gus called out, shocking the girl out of her depressed stupor for a moment and causing her to spin around, spotting him and Skara rushing towards her, carrying a rectangular box wrapped protectively in her arms.

“Luz, I am so sorry about Em and that one girl,” Skara panted out. 

“Viney,” Luz mumbled to herself, angrily. Honestly, the amount of venom she mustered for the word surprised her. Viney was her friend, someone Luz would hang out with after school with the other Troublemakers. They weren’t the best of friends, but Luz knew she had no right to be THIS angry at her.

And yet…

_She HATES Blights,_ Luz thought to herself frustratedly. _Told me at Grom herself! WHY does she like Em, then?_

_Why did it HAVE to be Em?_

“Er, yeah,” Skara said. “So, we decided to getcha something to help!” Smiling ear-to-ear, she opened the box. In it was a cake version of a witches biologically accurate heart, coated with red frosting, complete with a black-licerice covered bile sac connected to its side. Written in white frosting in cursive read “Sorry For Your Romantic Loss.” 

“Er, one sec,” Skara noted. A small spell circle later and the frosting wiped itself across the cake, smooshing the colors together. “There!” 

Luz looked up at her two friends and sighed. “Thanks, guys. That’s sweet, but I think I just wanna go home for the night. See ya Monday.”

Luz turned away from her worried friends and walked away, digging her hands into her suit’s pockets as she walked out to the school's front door.

——————————————————————

Luz frowned as she kicked a stone, crunching rust-colored leaves under her feet. She hated being like this. Being so self-loathing, self-defeating, self-pitying. She loved being bubbly and wild, open and free. Normally, Luz would have been rushing home, eager to show off new magical tricks she learned that day with Eda or discuss magical theory with Lilith or even learn about the various demon species of the Isles with King. But right now, all she wanted to do was go home, curl up into as tiny a ball as possible, and never move from that position.

Luckily for her, she had reached the clearing of the woods where the Owl House was, meaning she could enter soon.

Unfortunately, someone there was very eager to see her…

“LUZ,” Hooty eagerly called to her. The house demon had already extended out towards the forest, apparently looking for one bug or another to munch on, but Luz took his full attention, launching directly towards the human. “GUESS WHAT I DID TODAY?!?!”

“Ate a bug,” Luz asked, as uninterested and dry as she could ever be. She wasn’t the biggest fan of the bird tube (as Amity had perfectly called him) on a good day, but now she couldn’t muster even feign interest in entertaining Hooty’s boring stories and annoying habits.

“YES,” Hooty exclaimed happily. “AND IT WAS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL BUG! IT WAS RED WITH BLACK DOTS, AND IT HAD A LOVELY-”

Luz didn’t hear any of the additional features of Hooty’s snack, because she was already inside the House. Inside the musty old living room (Luz would have to feed the stupid thing this weekend, hah), King was curled up on his favorite spot in the couch, purring his little demon heart out. When Luz snapped the lights on, the tiny beast stirred and opened its eyes, yawning as he sat up. “Wa-Luz, ya woke me up from the most beautiful dream,” King complained. “I was in this lovey throne, and there were all these lovely people with red skin and horns and pitchforks cheering my name and-”

“That’s nice,” Luz mumbled, walking over to the kitchen without a second thought. _Maybe a little snack can help keep my mind off of stuff. We still have some not-dogs or apples or something?_

Luz opened the pantries to find nothing but Eda’s half-drunk gallon of apple blood and a few tiny white cubes. Luz furrowed her brow. _Wait, didn’t Lilith get groceries a few days ago?_

Before she could groan or react in any disapproving way, she felt King’s tiny claws tugging at her leggings, like a child with its mother’s pants, only with sharper fingers. And just two of them.

“Hey, you ok, Luz,” King asked, tilting his head as he looked up at her. “You seem...off.”

Luz sighed. “I’m just, uh, hungry. That’s it.”

King narrowed his eyes, not buying it. “Hmmm...well, I’ve seen you hungry, and this isn’t it. But I have seen you when…” His eyes widened and he put his hands up to his mouth. “EDA’S BEEN CAPTURED AGAIN!!!!”

“Wait, what,” Luz asked, but before she could get any further, King climbed onto her leggings and clawed his way up her back and onto her head. 

“ONWARDS, STEED,” King declared with his standard enthusiasm. “LET US GO AND SAVE HE-.”

“KING,” Luz angrily shouted, ripping the tiny demon off of her head and putting him onto the counter. “Eda hasn’t been...wait, where IS Eda, actually? Or Lilith?” Eda might have been out at the stall, still trying to sell what was left of her human junk, but Lilith usually stayed home to clean up the house, as agreed upon by her and Eda as a cost for living rent-free with the group. 

“OH, OH, I KNOW,” the shrill voice of Hooty claimed. “THEY GAVE ME A LETTER! I’LL GET IT FOR YOU!” Hooty, being Hooty, began to hack and cough, violently flailing about his body as he tried to hack up the Clawthorne’s message. 

After about thirty of the grossest seconds of Luz’s life, Hooty coughed up 6 bronze snails, a few copies of Lilith’s romance novels, and, finally, a letter. Luz, after finding a pair of tongs and gloves in the kitchen, opened it. 

_Hey kid,_

_Sorry to bail without notice. Me and Lily got a tip about some herbs from The Knee that could make a potential cure. Nothing too exciting, I’m afraid, but hopefully it helps. We’ve got plenty of supplies and elixir, don’t worry. We should be back by early Monday, before you even leave for school. Prepared some snacks and dinner for you all in the pantry. Just throw the cubes in the cauldron whenever you get hungry. You know the drill; get homework done, bed by nine,_ _NO TOUCHING THE APPLE BLOOD!!!!!!!!!!_ _And remember, you’re a pretty great kid. I’ll give ya a vertical-arm thing when I get home. Take care, kiddo!_

Luz let out a sigh of relief. _Least she didn’t bring up anything with Em or-_

_Oh, one more thing,_ the letter continued. _I’m sorry I couldn’t be there to joke about you and your new girlfriend. She can come over this weekend if you want, but NO FUNNY BUSINESS! Don’t need to come home to the house turning into a comedy club or something._

Luz groaned, both in frustration at being reminded of her failure and Eda’s terrible, terrible joke. Luz knew she’d meant well, but all the reminder did was make her feel more like a failure. _Oh, great! Eda thinks I have a girlfriend! I can’t wait to tell her that I actually don’t, and I lost out to a girl that HATED her, what, a month ago? And that I wasted everyone’s time and took Amity’s tiara for-_

_Wait...Amity’s tiara…_

Luz searched her pockets, digging in them until she felt the smooth, cold curve of Amity’s Grom tiara against her fingertips. The realization caused her to stop thinking for a moment before slapping herself against the forehead.

_GAAAH! GREAT! NOW BECAUSE OF MY STUPID CRUSH I STOLE AMITY’S TIARA AND SHE’S PROBABLY GONNA BE MAD AND I WASTED HER TIME AND I’M AN IDIOT AND-_

“LUZ,” she heard King shout, tugging at her suit’s leggings. “SNAP OUT OF IT!”

“Out of-” she began to ask, but stopped as she looked at the note. Or, now, the shredded remains of the note the human had spent the last five seconds tearing apart into tiny pieces. They hadn’t even realized they were doing it, so caught up in their own thoughts and emotions.

Luz stared at the shredded remains of the note. Thought about the theft of her friend's tiara. Remembered Eda’s encouragement and snarky but (well meaning) support, and how she’d been so bitter that she’d just torn it to little white pieces.

Then, she sighed.

“I’m going to bed,” Luz muttered, turning away from the kitchen and towards the stairs. 

“It’s only 4,” King said, confused as they walked beside her. “Don’t you wanna go on a crazy adventure, or learn a new glyph, or help me with my demon book?”

Luz ignored him. She appreciated King, she really did.

But right now, the young witch just wanted to be alone, to feel sorry for themselves while berating herself FOR feeling sorry for themselves. It wouldn’t help with anything, she knew, but at the moment it was all they wanted to do.

Reaching Eda’s old junk filled storage space turned makeshift bedroom, Luz simply walked towards her sleeping bag (or ‘sleep cocoon’ as King would fondly call it) and wordlessly laid herself inside. She turned onto her left side and closed her eyes. She tried to let the day fall away. To not think about Emira. To not think about Amity. To just let her mind go blank while she slept.

As with all Luz’s plans today, they fell apart immediately.

She felt something wiggle it’s way into her bag, crawling about. Luz’s eyes opened immediately out of surprise as she felt around the sleeping bag before finally catching the culprit. Something incredibly tiny. And incredibly fluffy. And, Luz quickly realized, incredibly narcissistic and power hungry.

“KING,” Luz cried out, “What are you-”

“The King of Demons demands cuddles,” King squealed out with as much intimidation as he could muster (which, honestly, wasn’t much). “For completely selfish, self serving reasons, of course,” King continued, the fierceness in his voice chipping away, “and not at all because my best friend looks like they need them.”

Luz looked down at the ego-driven demon, now unable to look her in the eye. _For a fierce, evil demon, King really is a big ol’ softy._ “Well, ask before you just crawl into my sleeping bag,” she muttered. “But...thank you.” She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed, hugging the little devil close to her chest. King flailed for a moment, taken aback by just how tight a grip she had on him, but he quickly stopped and curled himself into Luz’s embrace.

As she drifted off, Luz heard her bedroom window open, and heard Hooty softly muttering a strange, unintelligible song before feeling a heavy blanket gently fall onto her.

Luz had to admit, she had some great friends. 

She just wished, maybe, she had one that was a little more than that…

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The weekend was primarily spent with Luz trying to find any way to avoid thinking about her confession. First, did something she had never been able to do while Eda was around: worked on homework. Unfortunately for her, this had been the lightest workload she’d received since she started Hexside, and after only three hours she had nothing to keep her mind occupied.

She would try pacing, working on glyphs, trying on the strange collection of outfits Eda had acquired from both the demon and human realm, but no matter what, her mind wandered back to the same set of emotions, every time, without fail.

First there was her sadness at being rejected. It wasn’t an unfamiliar feeling to Luz, but this was far more intense this time around. She felt like a fool for thinking Emira would like her, like an idiot for thinking she ever stood a chance with the cute upperclassman.

Then, there was the frustration and anger at Viney. She didn’t want to be upset at her friend, especially for something as simple as the girl finding love. But knowing how Viney had acted with Em at Grom, knowing her feelings on the Blight’s in general… it made Luz feel as if her friend had stabbed her in the back, like she had fallen victim to some prank the two had hatched in secret.

And then, there was her sense of guilt. She didn’t know why, but holding Amity’s Grom tiara in her hand felt...wrong. Like she was stealing it, ripping it from her friends hands. She knew that was stupid. She’d asked Amity to borrow it, and she’d lent it to her, and she was just gonna give it back on Monday. No theft, no mockery. She would just return it, and all her problems with it would be solved.

But every time she looked at it, clutched it in her fingers, felt the golden headpiece in her hands… she felt sick. Cruel. Monstrous, even.

_I hope Amity forgives me,_ was a common refrain Luz would repeat to herself. And no matter how many times she reminded herself that, no, she didn’t steal it and yes, she could just return it when she saw Amity again...she never stopped feeling guilty about it.

The only genuinely good thing, as hard as it was to admit, was that, since Eda and Lilith weren’t home, Luz wouldn’t have to spend time explaining everything to them. She loved Eda, but she knew the older witch would probably want to talk to Luz about her rejection and try to help her when all Luz really wanted was to try and avoid thinking about it. Even if it didn’t work, she preferred it to dealing with the issue directly. Thankfully Hooty and King had taken the hint the first night, not mentioning anything about Emira and simply were there for Luz, occasionally trying to snuggle up to her or coughing up a nice rock they found in the woods to cheer her up. It didn’t help, but it was sweet of them to try.

Eventually, though, the Isles sun set on Sunday and Luz was able to crawl into bed, knowing that when she woke up, she’d be back in school. Which...would not help her, considering she’d probably see Em and Viney and the friends whose time she wasted…

_Maybe I’ll finally feel a bit better though,_ Luz thought to herself. _Maybe I’ll be able to move on a little. Let go of Em. Give Amity her tiara back and look into her golden eyes and apologize for everything and hopefully see her smile and hear her say it’s ok…_

Luz wasn’t sure why, but the idea of Amity smiling and reassuring her out a tiny, but genuine, smile on her face.

——————————————————————-

“Hey, kiddo,” Luz heard in her tired head, “almost time to get up. Ready to start the day right?”

Squeezing her eyes tight, Luz groggily muttered “Five more minutes, _mami,_ ” before turning away from the source of the intrusion. 

Then, a tiny pair of talons clawed themselves onto her skin, and Luz opened her eyes to be met with the tiny Palisman Owlbert and the sly grin of...

“EDA,” she cried out, her body citing itself to hug the Owl Lady. “You’re home!”

Eda chuckled and returned Luz’s hug. “Yup. Sorry ‘bout leavin’ without a warning. Gotcha a surprise downstairs to make up for it, I hope.” She let go of Luz, and eventually Luz let go of her. “Now, get ready,” Eda insisted, tousling the young girls hair. “You insisted on going to that stupid brainwashing camp you call a school and I’ll be darned if you’re not gonna at least try to ge there on time.”

Luz nodded before rushing off to start her daily morning routine; shower, get into her multi-track uniform, rush downstairs for breakfast, and begin to chow down on whatever Eda had cooked up! Or, in this case apparently, gotten as take-out. Which was even better, because, for all her abilities to make potions, Eda was a fairly lousy cook.

“Oh Titan this looks delicious,” Luz said, looking down at what appeared to be triangle shaped pancakes. And, if she just avoided the eye in the middle of them, they actually TASTED like them too! 

“Heh, you like,” Eda asked, smirking as Luz scarfed down the top Tricakes. “Wonderful. Consider this a little gift for not drinking all my Apple Blood.” 

“And,” the silver haired witch grumbled out, “maybe I kinda care about ya or something, I dunno…”

Luz devoured the rest of the Cakes in record time, swallowing the last non-eyeball piece of it whole. “Thanks, Eda,” she said, a smile crossing her lips. “This was...I needed that surprise.”

Eda shook her head. “Oh, no. That’s not the surprise.” She pulled out from underneath the table a bouquet of strange flowers, their bulbs shaped liked what Luz imagined dragons looked like. The wrapping around them looked like an old newspaper being held together by a rubber band. “Behold, a bouquet of Snapping Dragons! Or, well, they WERE snapping, before I plucked them.” Eda chuckled, then slammed a fist onto one of them that seemed to bite out a laugh in response. “One of the Isles’s rarest plants!”

Luz took the bouquet, a tad confused. “Well, thanks. That’s nice.”

“Also the most romantic plants.” Eda winked. “Thought you could give them to your new girlfriend. Cozy up to her a bit, maybe convince her to let me sneak my way into her vault sometime.”

Luz suddenly felt her heart drop. The serotonin rush of seeing her mentor again was gone, replaced by the crushing reminder of Emira’s rejection. “Uh, that’s sweet Eda, but-”

“EDA,” Hooty’s shrill voice cried. It was only then that Luz realized the bird tube had slithered his way into the kitchen, probably from an upstairs window. Despite him apparently choking down the Tricakes eyeballs, she must have been too distracted to notice. “DON’T REMIND LUZ OF HER SOUL CRUSHING, LIFE DESTROYING REJECTION!!! IT MAKES HER SAD!!!!”

Eda blinked, turning to look from Hooty to Luz, who now, on top of blushing a bright crimson, was sinking lower and lower into her chair. “Wait...what? Is he…”

“OH YES,” Hooty continued. “SHE’S BEEN ABSOLUTELY DEVASTATED ALL WEEKEND! LAYING AROUND, MOPING, WHISPERING IN HER SLEEP ASKING WHY SHE WASN’T GOOD ENOUGH!!! WHY, IT’S NOT LIKE THE LUZ WE KNOW AT ALL!!!! IT MUST HAVE BEEN TERRIBLE, AND _OUCH!!!_ ” His next few words were cut off by Eda slamming her staff against the house demon's head. “ALRIGHT ALRIGHT, SHEESH! JUST TRYING TO HELP!!!!” The demon slithered his long body out of the kitchen, presumably back to his resting position at the front door.

Eda glared at her infernal and annoying guardian before turning to look at Luz, who was now so low in her chair that her head, slumped down in defeat, was all that she could see. “Oh, kid...” The older witch’s face melted from annoyed to concerned as she rushed from her seat to Luz’s side. “Is that true?”

Luz nodded weakly. “Y-yeah...she...has a girlfriend.”

Eda hugged Luz close. “Oh. I’m...I didn’t realize. I could have sworn…” 

Luz pushed herself off of Eda, putting on an insincere smile. “Whaaaa? Eda, I’m fine, see? Totally fine!” She pointed to the upturned tips of her lips, hoping she was able to convince Eda it was true. “Just gotta power through it, ya know? What’s one little rejection from the only girl I’ve ever known who liked girls? I’ll make it through! Honest!”

Eda narrowed her eyes,but sighed. “Kid, if you ever wanna talk about it, I’m-”

“Can’t talk, mouth full,” Luz lied, grabbing something off of her plate and shoving in her mouth. Realizing but the slimy texture and spherical shape it was an eyeball, she tried her best to hide her disgust while she power walked out the kitchen, past a sleeping Lilith (with King snoring atop her face), and out the front door.

“HI LUZ,” Hooty cried out as she shut the front door. “STILL DEVASTATED BY YOUR HORRIFIC REJECTION, HOOT?”

“Here,” Luz mumbled, spitting the eyeball onto her palm and shoving it into Hooty’s mouth. “Just...please stop talking.”

“I CAN DO THAT, HOOT,” Hooty said. “WHY, I REMEMBER ONE TIME I DIDN'T TALK FOR A WHOLE TWENTY MINUTES! I HAD BEEN TALKING WITH THIS NICE GREEN OWL AND THEN-”

Luz wandered off, leaving Hooty to himself and his own story, without a second thought.

————————————————————-

Luz had seen a lot of strange things at Hexside.

She’d seen griffons swarm the hallways when one particular Beastkeeping student forgot to close the pen.

She’d witnessed a random student get sucked underground, apparently falling into some weird makeshift tunnel under the school.

And on one particularly horrifying occasion, she’d seen Mattholomule have a date! To Grom! 

(She later learned it had been lost bet, thankfully, but it was still weird to see.)

But even with all that, nothing prepared her for what she saw when she came across the Hexside front entrance that day.

As she started to make out the magic school through the tree’s, Luz could also see a pair of green, writhing, tentacles from the ground that seemed to be holding people, and that a small crowd had formed around it. As Luz quickened her pace, though, she noticed that they weren’t tentacles; they were plant roots. And that, outside some stragglers in the back, most of the crowd was filled with identical, angry looking Gus’s. And the people in the roots grips were Boscha and Skara.

“Delete it. NOW!”

Willow’s voice. So, ok, Luz had to admit, she’d suspected as much, given Boscha’s history of bullying the plant student. But still, she was taken aback by the anger in her voice. She sounded even angrier than the day Luz met Willow, when she let her inner power loose to wreak havoc on the forest.

Boscha snorted. “And what? Pretty much the whole school has seen it by now. Won't change anything.”

“Guys,” Luz nervously called out, shoving through the gaggle of Gus’s. 

“Willow,” Skara called out, “I’m so so sorry! I swear I didn’t-” But the bard was cut off with a tight squeeze.

“Guys,” Luz repeated.

“If you don’t get rid of it,” one Gus in the crowd shouted, “I swear, we’re gonna-”

“GUYS!” 

Everyone stopped, then turned all their eyes to Luz. Willow’s were the bright violet they had been back when they first met, but they quickly faded to their usual soft green, filled with worry and concern. All the Gus’s faded, save for presumably the real one, who had just been yelling. Only Boscha and Skara didn’t look at Luz. Skara because her head was hung, as if in shame, and Boscha because she was too busy cackling. “Oh, look,” she cried out. “It’s everyone’s favorite little witch wannabe. Ya like the video yet, round ears, or are you and the Owl Hag too poor for a measly Scroll?”

“What...what are you talking about,” Luz asked. “Willow? Gus? Please, what’s going on?”

Willow and Gus glanced at each other. “Luz...I’m sorry,” Willow began. “But, Boscha, she...it’s better if I show you.” Willow snapped her fingers and summoned a Scroll, then handed it to Luz. It was opened to her Penstagram, to a video post. 

Luz could feel her heart stop and her stomach drop. She already knew what it was. 

But she pressed play.

“Well then, if that's settled, may I have this da-”

“LUZ, I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND!”

Luz watched her face drop, the confidence in her eyes dying out at those words. 

There it was. Video footage of her rejection. 

Footage of her that Boscha had gotten her hands on. 

And footage she had posted up on Penstagram, for the school to see.

And worse, footage that included Willow, and Gus, and Amity, incriminating all of them into this embarrassing failed confession.

Luz just stood, her body completely frozen as her mind raced a mile and minute. This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be real. How could Boscha have even-

“Luz, I swear,” Skara shouted, “I didn’t know! I-I just told Boscha I was at band practice and-”

The roots that held both girls up threw them to the ground, seemingly with enough force to have broken bones if they were human. Witches, though, seemed more resilient, and so all Boscha could do was laugh.

“I can’t BELIEVE this,” Willow shouted, her anger directed between the three eyed witch and her bard lackey. “This is...this was low. Even for you!” 

“You humiliated me in front of my team,” Boscha said, pushing herself to her feet, cackling. “I humiliate you in front of the school. It’s only fair.”

Gus glared at the three-eyed witch. Luz wasn’t used to seeing him so angry. It honestly caught her off guard. “That’s not fair at all. And this ISN’T funny.”

“Oh, it’s hysterical,” Boscha countered. She raised a hand and started to count off from her fingers. “So, first, she falls for the lamest of those green haired losers, which I guess makes sense, since she’d probably be the only one she stood a chance with. Second, she spends, what, a week with you dorks trying to come up with some corny, stupid way to tell her? And takes in one of my little friends, giving me the perfect chance to spy on you with a tracking spell” She grinned, though it could easily have been mistaken for a predator bearing its teeth to prey. “And third...she STILL got rejected. All caught on video by a special little spy drone I hid in Skara’s tuba.” She summoned from her palm a dark fly, with bright red eyes that glowed, literally. The potions student then crushed it in her palm. “Whoops. I’ll get a new one later. I suppose.”

Luz’s mind spun, her heart racing. This was all so...wrong. Her feelings for, and rejection by, Em was now plain for the school to see. She wanted to curl up into a ball, a tiny little ball, and stay in that one spot, to never be seen again by anyone. Not by Boscha, not by Amity, not by

"And the best part is," Boscha cackled, "you lost out...to a BEASTKEEPER!" The three-eyed witch threw her head back and practically howled like a coyote. "The only thing lamer then...well, I guess whatever you are," she choked out through her hysterical laughing.

THAT brought the human out of her stupor. 

Luz clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. She never liked being violent, but punching Boscha seemed like a good idea. She wasn't mad about the potions student bullying her. But now, she was picking on, no, OUTING Viney and Emira. And she couldn't let that stand.

Digging into her pockets, Luz pulled out her glyph notebook and flipped to the nearest fire glyph. She knew she'd probably get suspended for starting a fight on school grounds, but the young witch was so angry she didn't care. She could use a vacation. And Boscha could use a trip to the Healers office.

Luz tore the paper out, thought of something witty to shout at Boscha,

Then stopped.

Behind the still laughing witch, three people, three very, VERY angry people, stood, as if they'd teleported silently. Viney, Edric, and

And Emira

They were glaring down at Boscha. In fact, the looks they gave her were the closest Luz had ever seen to anyone legitimately glaring daggers at somebody. Arms crossed over their chests, they looked nothing like the usual happy-go-lucky pranksters Luz was friends with.

"Boscha," Emira growled. "Back. Off."

Luz froze entirely. She knew Emira wasn't planning on hurting the human, but the witch's tone was so serious, so enraged, so opposite to everything Luz knew the illusion student to be, that it scared even her.

Boscha turned, clearly mad at the interruption. "Who said-oh," she muttered. "It's just you." Boscha snapped her fingers. "Come along, girls. I think our work here is done." She smirked as she spun back to face Luz. Striding next to her, she blatantly, deliberately bumped into her shoulder. "I better get going," Boscha whispered, a cold smirk crossing her lips. "I think your girlfriend's calling." She laughed as she strode past her to the school, her gang of fellow rich girls close behind.

Skara stayed behind, looking back at Willow. Her face was filled with regret. “Willow, I-” But the plant witch merely glared at her. Skara flinched, then hung her head in shame, running off to catch up to Boscha’s gang.

As Boscha left, the three older teens’ anger softened. Edric smiled a cocky smile and raised his hands to shoo the crowd away. “Alright, guy’s, gals, and demon pals,” he stated. “Move along. Nothing to see here.” 

Luz suddenly remembered that there had, in fact, been some students, a small crowd, who’d watched the scene unfold, students other than Willow or Gus. Her face turned crimson from embarrassment as she realized how many people at this point probably HAD seen the video. What did they think? Would they make fun of her? Mock her?

Edric walked past Luz as he dispersed the crowd, most of the students now losing interest with no blood to be seen. Walking up to Willow and Gus, he placed a hand on their shoulders and grinned. “Let’s say we all come up with a plan to deal Boscha her just desserts?” 

Both Luz’s friends looked at Edric, a gleam of vengeance in their young eyes. “We’ll get that three-eyed, two-faced bully,” Gus said, sticking out his chest to appear tough. Edric chuckled and led them inside.

Leaving Luz alone with Viney and Emira. 

Luz hung her head low, unable to look into either girl's face. Now, to top off her frustration and self loathing and already existing guilt over the tiara, Luz felt sick to her stomach knowing her stunt had just outed Viney and Emira’s secret relationship. It was all her stupid fault, and she didn’t know what to do.

“Luz,” Emira asked softly, “can we talk? Please?”

Luz almost was taken aback to Emira’s use of her real name. She heard her use it back in the gym, but it still felt strange when she said it. Almost wrong.

But Luz tried her best to hide that, and all her feelings. She turned her head towards the sky, gave the fakest smile she’d given in her life, and chuckled as if she’d just lost her mind. 

“Talk,” Luz asked, walking away from the two and into the school. “Sure! We can talk! You have vocal chords, right? Or whatever the witch equivalent is, I suppose.”

“Er, right,” Viney said. “Listen, Luz, we wanted to apologize for-”

“Apologies, schmologies,” Luz countered, laughing hysterically as she refused to look at the two. “What’s wrong? You two dating? Hey, you deserve to be happy right? Just cause Viney hated you doesn’t mean anything I’m sure!”

Luz’s fake grin faltered as she realized what she’d said. She hadn’t meant to add that last bit in. It just slipped out. She wanted to apologize. But since she also wanted to avoid even implying things were wrong, she just tried to keep her mouth shut.

If Luz’s statement hurt either girl, their voices didn’t make it clear. “Luz, please,” Emira continued. “Just look at us.”

“But the ceiling’s so interesting today,” Luz dodged. “They finally got the griffon blood stains out! See how it sparkles?”

“We want to help,” Viney said.

“Help? There’s nothing to help, silly. I confessed my most private intimate feelings and got rejected and now you both are being outed to the whole school because I thought bringing in one of Boscha’s lackeys would work and I’m an idiot and-”

“LUZ,” Emira cried out. Luz felt a hand drag her by the hood of her school uniform back, taking her away from wherever she’d been walking to. Which, in this case, appeared to be the maw of a particularly hungry locker, one that appeared almost hurt it wasn’t going to enjoy a nice student for a meal, judging by how it’s gaping maw shut and it whimpered sadly to itself. 

Luz couldn’t look away from the two girls anymore. They both looked at her, pleadingly. Luz could tell by the look in both their eyes they wanted to make amends, stay friends with the human, be there for her. 

“Luz,” Emira said, her voice stripped of its usually mockery and playfulness, replaced with a sense of sincerity that almost felt wrong coming from the older witch. “I’m sorry.”

Luz didn’t say anything. 

All she could do was shut her eyes and run, holding back tears.

—————————————————————-

Thankfully, for the first half of the day, no one mentioned Boscha’s video. Luz didn’t hear anything about it, no one made fun of her for it. It was almost as if, surprisingly enough, the students of Hexside weren’t as obsessed with their peers' love lives and making fun of them for it as human schools.

But that didn’t mean Luz didn’t rush from class to class, zooming through the halls, trying to avoid as much interaction as possible with anyone. She only stopped for her locker, and even then she removed them in record time, before swiftly dodging her fellow students, trying to get to classes and hope beyond all hope she didn’t see the twins or the Troublemakers.

The only person she kept an eye out for was Amity.

_I need to return the tiara,_ she reminded herself. _I need to apologize. To make sure we’re still friends…_

But she didn’t see her. Granted, that wasn’t unsurprising for a Monday. Amity’s locker was on the opposite end of the school, and none of their classes were close enough to each other for them to cross paths this early. 

_She’s probably just trying to get to her classes super early to get a head start on notes and doodling,_ Luz thought. She couldn’t help but smile, remembering once catching a glimpse of Hexsides Top Student drawing herself as Hecate, Azura’s ultimate rival, in her notebook during a lecture. It was cute. Not just because the drawing was cute (though Luz had to admit combing the two already cute witches together was, indeed, very cute). But it was just so...nice. Seeing Amity doing something as sweet and human (well, witchlike) as doodling in class made Luz think of her less and less like the stuck up bully she’d first met so long ago and more like the friend she’d come to know and care so much about…

_I’ll see her at lunch,_ Luz assured herself. _I can just give it back to her there. No problemo._

But one “problemo” did occur.

Amity wasn’t at lunch.

Not just that she didn’t sit with Luz and Willow and Gus.

She just wasn’t in the lunchroom period.

Sitting at the same table she and her friends always sat at, Luz kept glancing around the rest of the lunchroom, nervously biting into a sandwich that tasted like peanut butter and mayonnaise. Amity was nowhere to be seen. Not her green hair, not her sparkling golden eyes, not her-

“Luz,” Willow asked, breaking through the human's concentration. “Is...is everything ok? No ones picked on you for Emira or anything?”

Luz looked back at her best friend, caught off guard. “Hmmm? Wha?” Then, swallowing, she mumbled “I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.” 

Gus’s eyes narrowed. “Luz, if Boscha or any of her lackey’s-”

“I’m fine, really,” Luz said, cutting the illusionist off. “I’m just...I haven’t seen Amity all day and I forgot to give her back the tiara.”

Willow let out a small, strangled sigh. “I haven’t seen her either. Maybe she’s sick, perhaps,” clearly not even believing the idea herself. Amity’s parents didn’t seem like the type to let their children stay home from school for any reason, probably mostly for the bragging rights of having children with a perfect attendance record more than anything.

Luz, though, had no desire to argue. “Maybe…” she mumbled, taking another bite.

“She’s not sick,” a voice said behind her. “I saw her in the gym, eating alone.”

Luz whipped her head around to see Skara, rubbing her arm and looking to the ground. “Sorry for barging like this,” she mumbled. “I just-”

“Leave. Now.” Willow was clearly angry. “It’s not enough you helped to embarrass my friends on Pensta, now you want to worm your way back with us?”

“Willow,” Skara began, but the plant prodigy didn’t want to listen.

“What,” Willow shouted, turning a few nearby heads. “Boscha wants you to get in good to hurt Gus next? Quit pretending you’re our friend and just leave us alone!”

Skara stepped back, clearly hurt, almost as if she’d been slapped. But she merely nodded and skulked to the cafeteria line, head bowed in defeat.

Luz and Gus both looked at Willow in surprise. “That was… harsh,” Gus said. “Maybe she was being honest when she said she didn’t know about the bug.”

Willow shook her head. “Maybe. But I don’t wanna risk it. It was a bad idea ever letting her in and now there’s the video and I thought she was actually kinda cool and-” She stopped, her cheeks a light pink. “Sorry. I’m just… I don’t wanna talk about it,” she mumbled.

Luz nodded. Then, she realized what Skara had said. “Hold on,” she said. “Amity’s in the gym? Why?”

Willow suddenly tensed, and Luz could tell she had an idea what Luz was planning. “Probably just wanted to be alone,” she said, attempting to sound nonchalant. “Best not to go.”

Luz slumped into her chair. Willow was probably right, as usual. If she wasn’t in the mood to sit with her friend, maybe it was best to leave her alone.

But Luz also knew that, if Amity was having lunch by herself, and she DIDN’T want to talk to her friends, that was the time when she needed them the most.

“Hmmm…” Luz sighed. “Maybe you’re right Willow. I don’t know, I guess I should just LOOK OVER THERE!” She shot up, attempting a mortified expression as she looked and pointed over at the table to the left of them.

Judging by the look on her face, Willow did not look. Nor did she buy it.

But she sighed, took off her glasses, and pinched her eyes. “If you really want to go, I guess I can’t stop-”

But Luz had already taken off, patting the inner pocket of her uniform where she’d kept the tiara. A small smile formed on her face as she thought about how relieved Amity would be to have it back.

_Don’t worry, princess. Your fearless champion’s coming for you!_

_—————————————————————————_

Luz reached the gym, the only light streaming through the windows, and saw Amity sitting on the stage, her back to the door. It might have been difficult to have known it was her specifically if it hadn’t been for her signature green hair and it’s adorable poof. _Finally_ , she thought with a grin. _I can’t wait to see the look on her face when I surprise her_. Walking on her tip-toes, trying her best to sneak to the stage undetected, Luz almost would have been able to make it to Amity in complete silence. Had it not been for a pesky Grudgby ball left in the middle of the floor tripping her.

“GAHHHHHHHH,” Luz cried as she fell face first to the hardwood floor. Smacking hard as she landed, Luz could feel her whole body shake from the impact, the tiara digging into her ribs yet again because she never quite learned from her last mistake. _Nice going, Noceda._

“Who’s there?” Luz heard Amity shout. “What do you- Luz?”

Luz looked up to the stage, but Amity didn’t seem to be looking at her anymore. She seemed to be staring towards the backstage exit, though Luz wasn’t sure why.

“Hey Amity,” Luz chuckled out, attempting to salvage what little dignity she could. Dusting herself off, she continued to the stage and pulled herself atop it. “Fancy seeing you here. I was just taking a stroll through the school, totally normally, and saw you and thought ‘Hey, maybe I should see what’s bugging ol’ Blighty. Maybe help her out a bit, ya know?’”

Amity didn’t turn. “I’m fine. But thanks,” she said, as stoical and as neutral as Luz had ever heard her speak. “Just wanted to eat alone, if you don’t mind.”

Luz was a tad taken aback. She hadn’t expected Amity to be so… blunt. And so… cold.

Still, maybe she could get her to talk.“Well, I get that. But hey, being alone can be really fun if you do it with friends!”

Amity scooched away, still refusing to look at Luz. “I know you’re trying to be nice. But I’m just… I really do just want to be alone.”

Luz was starting to panic. Her mind was racing, reeling at Amity just throwing her off like this. It wasn’t as bad as it had been when they met. There, she practically wanted Luz dead.

This felt even worse. 

She just wanted Luz gone.

Trying to hide her pain, Luz reached into her inner pocket containing her friend’s tiara. “Well, ok. I understand. But before I go, I just wanted to give you back your tiara.”

Luz could see Amity’s body stiffen slightly, her hands bawling into tiny fists on the floor. But she tried to ignore the sudden reaction. “Look, I’m sorry for… whatever’s on your mind.” She placed the tiara next to Amity’s hand. “Here’s your tiara,” she said, starting to pick herself up off the ground. “I’ll head out now and-”

“I don’t want it.”

Luz froze, just like she had when she saw Boschas video. “What,” she asked, spinning to look back at the green haired witch. “Amity.”

“I don’t want it.” She pushed the tiara away, towards Luz, and stood up. “You can keep it.”

Luz was stunned. Leaning over to pick it up, she held the royal symbol up to Amity, who still hadn’t looked at her the entire time the human witch had been there. “Amity, this isn’t mine. It’s YOUR tiara. I wanted to give it back anyway, even if Em…” She didn’t want to think about that. Instead, she shook her head and continued. “Amity, please. I don’t want it.”

“Then give it to someone you care about.”

Something about the bluntness, the coldness, in Amity’s voice made Luz step back. “Amity…” 

“Give it to a girl or guy or just… just somebody you care about. Who makes you happy and makes you smile and that makes you feel the ways… the ways Em did.”

Luz didn’t want to hear this. She didn’t want to think about giving the tiara to anyone who wasn’t the green haired bright eyed kind and caring and sensitive and nerdy and beautiful witch in front of her. She raised the tiara up to Amity and held it to her back, as if it somehow gave her the power to telepathically have the Abomination ace turn to grab it. “Just… just look at me,” she pleaded. “Amity, please, just look at me and take the tiara. You don’t have to say anything or do anything just please look at me and take it.”

“I should go,” Amity said, walking towards the edge of the stage. Jumping down, she gracefully landed and walked towards the door.

Luz stared in disbelief at Amity, her mouth agape. _This isn't real. Amity can’t be THIS upset about it._

_Can she?_

Luz tried to bite back her tongue, to let Amity leave, but her selfish, stupid brain took over. “WHY,” Luz cried out, putting all the hurt and pain she was feeling into that one word. It was apparently enough to make Amity freeze before the door, so Luz continued. “WHY DO YOU HATE ME SUDDENLY? WHY CAN’T YOU EVEN LOOK AT ME?”

“I don’t hate you,” Amity countered. She still didn’t turn around, but her voice quivered, if only slightly, as she spoke. “I could never hate you.”

“THEN WHY ARE YOU ACTING LIKE IT?” Luz suddenly realized that maybe shouting at the friend she was trying to reconcile with wasn’t the best idea, so she slid off the stage and walked towards the youngest Blight. “Is it because of Boscha’s stupid video?” She stepped closer, trying to keep her pace slow enough to hide the clawing need to be close to Amity and fast enough to catch up with her before she decided to flee. “Is it because I wasted all your time on my stupid crush?” Amity flinched, and for a second Luz worried she was about to flee. 

“Or is it...is it because I’m not good enough?”

Amity didn’t move, but Luz could sense a tension growing. A thick tension that Luz could have cut with a kitchen knife. “I just...I know Em’s probably going to get a lot of junk because of me outing her and Viney. And why...why should you risk your hide to your parents for me?”

“Luz,” Amity stated, her voice quivering ever so slightly. “I don’t… that isn’t it. I just… I need time alone. To think. I want to stay friends I do but… but I need to be alone.”

Luz just stood there in silence for a moment.

“Then why won’t you look at me?”

Amity’s moment of silence.

“I’m sorry Luz. One day I may be brave enough to tell you about it.”

Then Amity walked away, the words hanging in the air over Luz’s head.

She wanted to rush out of the room. To find Amity. To grab her shoulders and shake her, scream at her, beg Hexsides Top Student to look at her. Even if it cost their friendship, a part of Luz just wanted to have Amity look at her again.

But she didn’t. Luz knew she couldn’t. It be too selfish, too stupid, even for her. 

So she just stood in the gym, playing with the tiara in her hands, looking out the doorway one of her best friends had just walked out of. Then, after what felt like eternities later, she walked herself out of the gym, to the opposite side Amity had walked, and headed towards Willow’s locker. For a second, when she came up to her friend, she was scared the plant witch would tell her ‘I told you so’ or tease and scold her for leaving to find her friend when she had been told nothing would come out of it.

But she didn’t. One look at Luz and Willow held out her arms, a pained attempt at a comforting smile on her lips. 

Luz was all too happy to just fall into Willow’s embrace and hold her friend as tightly as she could.

She didn’t cry. Every part of her wanted to. To let out the emotions into bursts of tears and sadness and anger and frustration.

But she didn’t. She just wrapped her arms around Willow and buried her face into her shoulder until the next bell screamed.

——————————————————————-

The next two classes were a blur of annoyed teachers ready for the day to be over, students eager to leave, and Luz’s thoughts and emotions making it impossible for her to think. All she could do was pretend to scribble notes and pretend to know the answers to questions the teachers asked her, such as “When was the war of Snapping Dragon’s,” or “How many Griffon spiders does it take to make a Putrification Potion,” or “You look familiar, where you miss Park’s abomination?” None of them Luz wanted to answer, but she still tried her best and gave as honest an attempt at it as she could (except the last one. She immediately lied about that).

She didn’t rush from class to class this time. She just skulked her way across the halls, head down, trying to avoid anyone’s gaze. She hated acting like this. Feeling this way. She wanted to be bright and cheery, caring and friendly, creative and wild. But after Emira, after Boscha, after...

After Amity…

She couldn’t work up the energy to act like that. Not now.

Finally, her last class of the day was upon her; Beastkeeping 101. It was normally one of her favorite classes, since it was one of the few she could actually do both the lecture AND magic portions. She couldn’t do them in Abomination’s or Illusion’s, but since most Beast Keeping spells were just meant to calm down the animals and have them come to you, Luz was able to just use less magical training methods to help keep the animals in line. She wouldn’t say she was an expert, and doing things like...well, the cleanup made her want to vomit, but for the most part it was one of her favorite classes.

But now, all she could do when she thought about Beast Keeping was think about Viney. And her fishhook earring and her smug smirk and her hands interlaced with Emira’s and the big laugh she must have had when whatever stupid prank she’d been pulling on Luz with Em played off and

_Calm Noceda, calm,_ Luz thought, settling herself into her seat, right behind the front row of desks. _Viney doesn’t even have this class._ Pulling out her notebook, Luz began getting ready to at least TRY and listen to this lecture, even if she still needed to stop thinking about Viney. _We already finished the chapter on Griffons, and we don’t have any healing spells, and the word ‘Troublemaker’ probably won’t ever come up! What could possibly remind me of Viney in this-_

“Alright everybody,” a frustrated, and familiar, voice called from behind the chalkboard. “Listen up!”

_Ohtitanno._

The chalkboard slid to the left to open a hole, big enough for a witch to crawl through. Specifically Viney. Crawling through the newly formed hole in the wall, the older student dusted herself off and continued to explain what on the Isles was going on.

“So, apparently the Beastkeeping teacher had a little accident. Their brother, having been a frat Bard in his younger days, did not realize that bringing a BASILISK TO A BACHELOR PARTY WAS A BAD IDEA!” Viney shook her head in frustration. “And now he’s sorta kinda no longer with us anymore. I’d go into more detail but unfortunately, as a student teacher, I’m only allowed to scar you physically, not emotionally.” She finished dusting herself off and turned to the chalkboard, beginning to write something down in big letters as Luz sunk lower and lower in her seat, hoping beyond hope that Viney wouldn’t look at her. 

“Oh, and I’m not in the mood for the usual pranks and shenanigans you all play on the substitutes. The weeping cushions, the daggers in my seat, the dragon that swoops in and drags me halfway across the Isles to swallow me whole! Nonono, no time for any more CRAP today. I just got finished accepting the fact one of my best friends wants nothing to do with me, and I just finished helping my girlfriend and her brother deal with a certain three eyed little PEST who will only be named Boscha, so right now, I highly recommend that none of you try to screw with me!” Turning to the class, she pointed to the chalkboard with a single finger.

_CLASS RULES,_ it stated. 

  1. _Do NOT do ANYTHING to get me mad._



  1. _I’m so mad Rule 1 is all I can think about._



“Any questions,” Viney stated. 

Without warning, Viney turned towards her. Luz tried to duck under the chair, but it was too late. “Yes, you,” she said. “The student behind LuuuuuuUUUUUUUUUUZZZZZ.” Viney’s frustration faded, now replaced with a sudden onset of shock and embarrassment. Her cheeks flared red and her eyes widened as she realized that the human who had been avoiding her all day was now one of her students.

Luz closed her eyes and began to sit up, pushing herself in her chair and wavin. “Heh, hey, Viney,” she stated. “Fancy, uh, seeing you here.”

The older girl's eyes scanned the room, and it was clear Viney was trying to think of something to say. “So, uhm...GRIFFONS!” A wide, false smile crossed her lips as she tried to direct her attention to the rest of the class “Yes, griffons!”

The student behind Luz cleared their throat. “Actually, miss, we did griffons. We’re now onto dra-”

“Griffon's are wonderful beasts, aren’t they,” Viney continued. “Did you know that griffon’s, they have this sixth sense that helps them find a mate?”

“Well, yes,” the student continued, “We learned about it in-”

“Fascinating stuff,” Viney continued. “And that sometimes, different groups of griffon’s might find each other, like the powerful, elite, dreamy Green-Feathered Griffons and the scrappy, resourceful Pigeon Griffon.” She was starting to speak a little frantically, and Luz could tell this was less a lesson for the class and more a message to her. “But sometimes, that sense...well, it accidentally leads a griffon, like the adorable Innocent Griffon, to find a friendly griffon that’s already taken a mate. It’s a sad, sad time, but some beastkeepers have studied when this happens, and…” Luz could now feel Viney’s olive eyes on her. “And they’ve found that when this happens, the couple often is really, really sorry to have hurt their friend.” 

The class was silent for a moment. Then, a student in front of Luz raised her hand.

“Uhm, miss,” she stated. “I thought Green-Feathered griffon’s ate Pigeon Griffons.”

A student next to her nodded. “Yeah. And aren’t Innocent Griffons extinct?”

Viney put her hands together in prayer, raised them to her face, and took a long, deep breath. “Ok, new plan... I let you all go early and no one tells Bump anything about this. Ok?” 

None of the student’s had to be asked twice.

Luz bolted from her seat, trying to reach the door before Viney said anything. Unfortunately, sitting so far up front made it difficult, and most of the other students had started stampeding out already. Maybe if she just hurried fast enough-

“Luz, wait,” Viney called.

Luz froze. Everyone else ran away, but Luz could only stand in the middle and wait for them all to escape the classroom to freedom. Leaving her alone with Viney.

“Luz… please. Can we just… just talk?”

Luz thought about it for a moment. It would be easy just to tell Viney “no” and run. It would be so easy for her to just keep avoiding the inevitable frustration and anger and pain and guilt that everything her stupid crush had brought on her and her friends.

But then she remembered Amity.

Luz remembered how bad it hurt for one of her best friends to just push her away. She remembered the feeling of having one of the people she cared the most refusing to even look at her, going out of their way to leave you without talking…

_Just like I did to Viney and Em._

Luz hated talking about her feelings. But she hated the feeling Amity’s abandonment had left her with. And she wouldn’t wish that on even Boscha, let alone Viney.

So, taking a deep breath, Luz turned to the Healer and nodded. “Yeah… yeah, we can talk.”

A small smile crossed Viney’s lips for a moment before she cleared her throat. “So, I, er… I didn’t realize you liked Em…”

“Well, I didn’t realize you liked Blight’s,” Luz said. The words came out colder then she’d meant them to, and she wanted to kick herself as she saw Viney flinch.

“I’m… I…” Then, Viney sighed, slumping over. “Well, let me have it, then.”

Luz took another deep breath. Then, she did exactly what Viney asked.

“YOU. HATE. BLIGHTS!”

Viney nodded and rubbed the back of her neck. “Yeah, yeah, I did say that.”

“Stuck up, elitist losers,” Luz continued, feeling all her anger boiling to the surface. It wasn’t all Viney’s fault, of course. A lot of it was directed at Boscha, and even more of it at herself. But she’d been offered an outlet, and she was going to use it. “That’s what you called them. And now, you’re… you’re DATING one? Em, of all witches?” She balled up her fists and shut her eyes tightly. “Was it a lie? Was this some prank? Did you know I liked Em and...and-”

Luz could feel a pair of arms wrapping around her, and she opened her eyes to see Viney hugging her. “Luz… I never would have… please, believe me if I'd have known I never would have taken Em’s number.” She sounded like she was in pain, as if Luz’s accusations physically hurt her. 

Luz sniffed and squeezed Viney back before breaking the hug. “Take her number? You mean… she asked you first?”

Viney nodded. “Yeah, she did.” She couldn’t help but crack a smirk. “What, don’t think ol’ Viney can’t get the girls to swoon after her?”

Luz blushed and looked away. “Er, well, I mean, I just didn’t think Em would be the type to...you see-”

Viney chuckled. “Yeah, don’t worry. If I’m being honest, I was surprised too.”

“Uhm… how’d it happen,” Luz asked. “You and Em, I mean.”

Viney looked at Luz, surprise evident on her face. “Luz, are you sure you want to know?”

Luz nodded. She knew it would be painful to hear, but maybe it could help somehow? Make her realize why Viney fell for Em, or at least help Luz with closure maybe?

Viney nodded back. “Ok then. Well, I wasn’t lying. I did hate Blights. And in my defense, I still hate some… but, well, to keep up with my Healing classes, I help out the school nurses. And the first day back from Grom, I was dealing with a LOT of kids who, for some reason, weren’t able to taste properly.” She glared back at Luz. “I heard it was a couple of Glandus kids who snuck in, but you wouldn’t happen to know anything about it, wouldya?” 

Luz gulped. “What? Me? Know anything about that prank me and Amity and the twins pulled?” Then, blushing at the realization of what she’d just said, “I mean continue.”

Viney smirked and did as Luz asked. “So, I was helping out the nurses when, suddenly, BAM, Em barges in, dragging Ed by the back of his collar. Apparently she’d been pranking him with some of that Tongue potion she got from some weird witch who lives in the woods, probably no one you’d know about, and he’d taken so much of the stuff he couldn’t taste anything. It wasn’t that bad a spell for me to help fix him, honest, but Em insisted on paying me for my services. She does that alot, by the way. Insist on paying for everything.” Viney rolled her eyes. “I know she’s rich, but still.”

She sighed. “Eventually, I relented and said ‘Fine, you can get me dinner tomorrow.’ I didn’t mean it as a date, I was just looking for an excuse to get out of the house honestly, but she immediately agreed, gave me the runes for her scroll, and winked at me before she left. It happened so fast I wouldn’t have known it was real if it wasn’t for her runes. So later that night, on an impulse I’ll never really understand, I texted her. ‘Hi, I hate you.’ And she responded with ‘Hi, I hate you, I’m Em.’” Viney chuckled. “It was a stupid joke, but… I dunno, I actually laughed.”

Luz looked intently at Viney, and a memory flashed in the back of her mind; Staring at Em at Grom after the healer had walked off. Luz hadn’t paid much attention to the green-haired girl's expression, but maybe, if she was being honest with herself…

_I didn’t stand a chance, did I?_

Viney continued, her voice sounding wistful, almost nostalgic now. “We spent the night texting. Telling jokes, trying to one up each other with the best pranks we’ve pulled, complaining about our parents. It was fun, talking to her, and I thought ‘Hey, maybe this Blight girl’s alright.’”

“The next day she came over in her tacky but cute yellow dress, and I realized she wanted to take me someplace fancy. Some suite and tie number that was apparently super exclusive, I don’t remember. But all I had for it was… well, my Grom tux. The one with holes and torn sleeves and...” Viney pursed her lips and sighed. 

“I felt like I was some exhibit. Everyone in there gawked at me like I was some stupid novelty. I tried to shake it off, but Em knew I wasn’t comfortable, so she blew up some particularly creepy losers soup and we walked out.” Viney smiled at the memory. “I was stunned, but she just asked me where I wanted to go. And I just gave her the greasiest, grossest, most childish little fast food place I could think of. And she just smiled and we walked over there and laughed and talked. We tore into some not-dogs and crispy cries and just… I dunno, just enjoyed each other’s company.”

“Finally, when it was over, she said she could take me home, but I lied and said I didn’t have a curfew and I wanted to go stargazing.We went to…” She paused and glanced at Luz, almost embarrassed. “Well, to that tree you and her sis made.”

Luz bit her lip. Somehow, knowing that… it didn’t actually help. But she let Viney continue, seeing how happy it made her. 

“And we climbed it and looked at the stars and I told a joke Barcus made earlier that day and she laughed and I laughed and I stopped laughing to stare at her and I realized… I thought to myself ‘Oh Titan, Viney, you’re actually falling for a Blight.’” At this point, Viney was so lost in thought and happy memories that Luz wondered if she even remembered why she was telling Luz this in the first place. 

“And then she noticed me staring and I tried to hide my blush and she put a finger under my chin and looked me in the eyes and asked me ‘Can I kiss you?’ And I told her yes without thinking and I had my first kiss and then Jerbo and Barcus laughed when I told them that and… well, the rest, as they say, is history.”

Luz looked at Viney, the older girl lost in love-struck thought, before turning back to Luz. “Er, did that help,” she asked nervously.

Luz shook her head. “I… not really, no. Not your fault. Just a stupid idea in the first place. Like this whole crush…” She looked down at the desk and sighed. “But thank you for try-”

“Hey cutie,” a familiar voice called out from behind Viney.

Luz looked up, startled, as Emira threw her arms around a similarly startled Viney and buried her face into the nape of her neck. “Em,” Viney asked, a tad nervously, “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I saw Bump trying to wrangle up a bunch of Beast Keeping students running out of school, and my immediate thought was ‘Welp, Viney’s first day as a student teacher’s going well.” She chuckled and kissed the brunette’s cheek. “Now, how's the most beautiful girl on the Isles doing?”

“Uh, well, actually,” Viney said, looking as Luz became more and more uncomfortable, “you might wanna look up for a second.”

Em sighed. “Babe, the correct answer is ‘I dunno, how are…’” Her voice trailed off as she looked up from the crook of her girlfriend's neck to spot Luz, fidgeting and trying to look away. The human felt like she was an intrusion, a fly on the wall witnessing an event she had no right to be seeing. Quickly, Em let go of Viney and put her hands behind her back. “Uhm, hey Luz. How’ve ya been?”

Luz took in a deep sigh. “Honestly, better.”

Em sighed. “If you want to leave, then-”

But Luz shook her head and stood from the desk. “Actually, I was thinking...maybe we could have that talk now? That one you and Viney wanted to do earlier? If you still want to.”

Emira and Viney looked at each other, surprised, before nodding. “Of course we can,” Viney said.

“But first,” Emira said, a wicked smile crossing her face, “I think we have something you’ll wanna see…”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“LET GO OF ME,” Boscha screeched out, kicking her feet as Edric held her up.

About 50 feet up. Off the ground.

Luz stared up as Ed held the squirming bully in his grasp. He’d somehow made his legs grow long enough that he could step over the school without even grazing the belltower. Luz was impressed, honestly. She’d seen Em do something similar when she first met the Troublemakers, but this was waaaaaaaaaaaaay taller.

“What,” Edric laughed, “Don’t like the view? Personally, I feel it grows on ya.”

Luz watched Emira roll her eyes and Viney giggle at Edric’s lame pun. “I’ll do anything you ask,” Boscha shouted, still squirming in Edric’s arms. “I’ll apologize to the dumb human! I’ll delete the stupid video! I’ll send you baby pictures for blackmail! Just please, PLEASE, LET GO OF ME!!!”

Viney smirked. “Babe, do ya think she’s learned her lesson yet?”

Emira chuckled. “Oh, I think she can learn it a little better than that.” Then, cuffing her hands over her mouth, she shouted, “YOU HEARD THE GIRL! LET HER GO!”

“With pleasure,” Edric grinned as he let go of Boscha, the three-eyed witch screaming as gravity did it’s work. 

When Boscha was about halfway to the floor, Viney gave a small whistle, and a large, adorable griffon swooped out of the sky, dive bombing towards the falling girl and clutching her in its mighty talons. 

“YEAH, PUDDLES,” Viney shouted. “WAY TO GO, GIRL!” Boscha screamed as Viney and Emira laughed. Even Luz had to smirk, despite her mood. It was nice seeing Boscha get what she deserved, if only for once.

“You good Ed,” Emira asked as Edric shrunk his legs back to his original height.

“You kidding? I wish I’d done that sooner! Hated the little snot since I met her.” He shook his head. “Now I’m just glad I had a good excuse to give her a bit of a scare.” He stepped forward and tousled Luz’s hair. “Hope that helped, bud.”

Luz smiled and nodded. “Yeah. It did.”

Edric smirked. “Wonderful!” He turned to Em. “I’ll go get Amity, let her know the good news. We gonna meet up after to head home?”

Luz blinked. Hearing Ed use his sister’s real name just sounded...really weird.

Em shook her head. “I’ll probably try to put off going home for as long as I can tonight honestly. I’m… not excited for the conversations I’m gonna be having tonight honestly.” She sighed. “Oh well. Think you can cover for me? At least for an hour?”

He nodded. “Sure. Long as you continue doing my laundry.”

Em sighed.”You prank your brother so hard they have to go to the nurses ONCE and suddenly I have to do the maids job to get you to shut up about it.” She smirked back at him. “But thanks.”

“None needed. Take care, gals!” Edric waved back at the three as he walked back to the school.

Then, Emira sighed. “So, Luz… wanna go for a walk?”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The three girls wandered through the woods aimlessly, kicking rocks and twigs as they avoided the obvious topic of conversation. Back when they were at the school and the idea of talking about.well, everything, was a bit of a longshot, they felt like they would know what to say. But now, crashing from the rush of happiness while watching Boscha’s little trip, they all realized they had no idea what exactly they were going to say.

It was Em who broke the silence first, giving a small fake cough. “Er, guess I’ll go first.” Clearing her throat, she turned to Luz, an apologetic look in her eyes as she nervously fidgeted with her braid. “Luz, I’m sorry. I’ve been informed that I have a...well, FLIRTATIOUS personality, and maybe it, well… I may have given you the wrong impression and… and I’m sorry.”

Viney nodded in agreement. “And I’m sorry too. We should have tried to talk about this on Friday. I know it was awkward, and no one really wanted to, but...but you’re a Troublemaker and our friend. The least we could have done is talk about this sooner.”

Luz simply nodded. Neither of them, she felt, really needed to apologize. She probably would have fallen for Em regardless, and there’s no way she would have wanted to talk about this on Friday. But still, she understood.

Still, she should be the one apologizing.

“I’m sorry, too,” Luz said, head bowed. “If I hadn’t have invited Skara into this then Boscha couldn’t have outed your whole relationship to the school. I’m… I’m sorry.”

Emira gritted her teeth and hissed. “It’s not the school I’m worried about…”

Luz pursed her lips. “Er, how do you think your folks will react to it?”

Viney sighed. “Well, my mom’s are gonna be pretty mad I kept this from them, and they’ll probably be miffed I’m dating some rich brat…”

Em scoffed. “Oh please! If your moms are half the pranksters you made them out to be, they’ll be BEGGING for us to have grandkids.”

Viney threw her head back and howled with laughter. “I mean, I dunno about that. I feel like they’d want us to wait a smidge, maybe till we’re, ya know, out of school.”

Luz bit her lip. “And...yours, Em?”

The two girls stopped laughing. “Well, I know how they’re gonna react,” Emira sighed. “I can hear mom talking about how ‘It’s not proper to date such a common girl’ and I can hear dear old dad agreeing despite his own ‘humble beginnings,’ and I already know it's gonna be a lot of me yelling and a lot of us screaming and probably some broken plates and it’ll end with me grateful I’m gonna be away to college in the next few years, away from the madhouse, ya know?”

Viney looked crestfallen. “Yeah… probably off to someplace I couldn’t afford to follow…”

Em looked back at Viney. Somehow, her face conveyed a sense of fear, frustration, and hurt, all at the same time, as if it was just now dawning on her that this would be an issue. “Oh. Yeah.” She shuffled her feet, and Luz could tell she was trying to think of something, anything to say to make her girlfriend feel better. 

“Well,” Em said, a small growing smirk on her face, “who needs an expensive fancy college?” She took Viney’s hand and twirled her underneath her arm. Viney, for her part, began to chuckle as her green haired girlfriend dipped her low. “And who needs their stupid parents approval? We still have all the secret passages at school right? And I know how to make a perfect illusion of myself to fool the folks.” She pulled Viney into her arms, wrapping them lovingly around her waist. “And hey,” she said, placing her head lazily onto Viney’s shoulder, “if it comes down to it, I know a lovely little spot in the library. Maybe I could ask mittens if I can borrow it.”

Viney laughed, a joyous, bubbly laugh, and Luz stared at the two girls, trapped in their own little world together. They seemed so happy together, so caring and loving, like something out of a cheesy romance novel. But it was real. And it was beautiful.

And she knew she couldn’t have that.

Finally, Em looked up, and Viney took her eyes off her girlfriend, and they both looked back to Luz, as if remembering she was still there. “OH, LUZ,” Viney let out. “We’re so sorry! We didn’t mean to… we just…”

“It’s ok, it’s ok,” Luz assured her. “I just…” she let out a shaky breath. “I… can I talk to Em? Alone? Please?”

Emira raised an eyebrow, but nodded. “‘Course I can. Ba-Viney?”

Viney nodded, lightly kissing Em’s cheek before stepping from her embrace. “I understand. I should probably make sure Boscha lands somewhere spikey anyway. You two talk as much as you need.” She waved them off as she walked away, deeper into the woods.

Now, it was just Luz and Emira.

Luz took a seat atop an old log, dodging the creeping moss that covered most of it. Em, for her part, didn’t mind, sitting right atop the moss and next to the small, sad little human. They sat there for a second. Then a minute. Then probably five? Luz wasn’t sure. She was trying to figure out what to say, how to word what she needed to ask in a way that wouldn't sound needy or petulant. 

After another five minutes, Em coughed lightly. “Luz,” she began.

“You would never have said yes, would you?

Emira blinked. “What?”

“Even if Viney and you weren’t dating, you wouldn’t have said yes if I asked you out, would you?”

Luz looked up at her. Her eyes were watering, her lip was quivering, and Luz could feel herself on the verge of a breakdown. She wasn’t asking because she didn’t know the answer. She was asking because she knew the answer and knew she needed to hear it out loud in order to face the truth.

Emira looked shocked, almost scared to answer. Luz gulped, afraid she’d just ruined her friendship with the older girl. “Sorry, sorry,” Luz said, wiping the forming tears from her eyes. “It was a stupid question. I’ll just le-”

And then she felt Emira’s arms pull her into her, wrapping themselves around her in as tight a hug as Luz could have imagined. She began to rub Luz’s back gently, moving her hand in a tiny circle. 

Luz’s eyes widened, but after a moment she leaned into it. She wasn’t sure why, but even platonically, Emira’s embrace felt comforting, caring. And in a weird way, nostalgic. She couldn’t tell exactly why-

And then a small voice in the back of her head made her realize why this feeling was so familiar.

“I’m sorry, Luz,” Emira whispered. “I’m so, so sorry.”

_It’s ok, mija,_ she remembered her mother telling her. _You don’t need to try to hide your pain from me. Mami’s here. Let it all out._

This was the same way her _mami_ would hold her when she came home, heartbroken by another rejection, another lost friendship, another moment of her stupid emotions ruining everything.

And so Luz did what the voice told her.

She buried her face into her Emira’s chest and sobbed, finally letting all of the pain, the grief, the frustration, all her stupid emotions, out. She didn’t care if it was selfish or dumb or anything like that. She just wanted to let everything out.

After a few moments of sobbing, Luz finally was able to choke out a few small words. “W-why,” she asked. “Am I… am I not cute enough? Not good enough? Not-”

“Hey, hey,” Emira said, prying the crying teen off of her. Luz gulped and looked down. “Luz, please, look at me.” Luz felt a finger under her chin and it raised her face up to look at the girl she’d spent a whole week working up the courage to confess to. For a second, a single, solitary moment, Luz remembered Viney’s story, and remembered how Em had done this before asking to kiss her, and Luz selfishly wondered if Em would…

“Luz,” she said, dropping her finger as her voice shattered any hope of the older girl asking for a kiss. It was firm and strong, full of tenderness, but the kind from a caring mother, not a crush. “Please, listen. I never want to hear you say those things about yourself again. You are one of the coolest, kindest, most fun, most creative, most amazing people I have ever met!” She raised a hand and began to count. “One, you’re the first human on the Isles in Titan knows how long! Two, you single handedly brought back an entire form of magic completely forgotten to us mere witches! Three, you defeated Grom as a FRESHMAN! That’s WILD!” She smiled. “I could go on and on about how amazing you are, Luz. I really could. Heck, if anything, I’m the one who’s not good enough for you.”

Luz’s eyes widened. “What? Em, don’t say that! You’re amazing and talented and funny and kind and-”

Emira barked out a laugh. “Kind? Me? Luz, your sweet, and I’ll accept a lot of compliments. But kind?” She shook her head and raised her hand back up, beginning to count again. “One, I was so nervous to just try and TALK to Viney at first that I had to prank my brother until we needed to seek medical attention. Two, I didn’t even know what a class conscious really was until Viney and I started dating! Three, I’ve spent my entire life pulling pranks and being a jerk instead of dealing with my issues like a normal person. And four…” Emira’s voice began to trail off. “I… I’ve treated my own sister like garbage for years.” She looked away, and for a moment, Luz thought she saw at least one tear form in the corner of the older witches eye.

After a brief moment, Emira blinked and smirked. “Luz, I appreciate the attempt. But I have a ways to go before I’m worth being called kind.”

Luz wanted to interject and tell her that, no, of course Em was kind. But she quickly realized nothing was coming to her mind. So, instead, she simply smiled. “Well, wanting to be kinder’s the first step, right?”

Em chuckled. “Yeah.” Then, she punched Luz in the arm. Not extremely hard of course, but hard enough to make the human wince. “And hey,” Em s continued, “now I guess you know how it feels to have someone you think the world of looks down on themselves.”

Luz blushed and looked down. “Heh, I… I guess I do.” Then, looking back up, she asked, “But then, if you like me...why don’t you think you could, you know...see me like that?”

Em sighed. “Well, if I’m being honest, the age difference doesn’t exactly help… but, it's just… argh. I don’t know.” She groaned and shook her head. “Liking people isn’t an exact science, I guess. Like, when I look at you, Luz, I see someone amazing. This wonderful, bright girl who’s only gonna get better and cooler with age.” She looked at Luz with the biggest smile the human had ever seen Emira have. “And someone I’m proud to call one of my best friends.”

At those words, Luz’s heart stopped feeling so heavy. Something about how Emira said it, it felt genuine and real. It didn’t feel like someone just trying to be nice or letting them down gently. Luz felt that Em actually meant what she was saying.

“But, when I look at Viney…” She sighed. Not in frustration, but as if caught in a dream. “I see her and I see someone who could be more than that. Someone I can see myself spending my life with.” She chuckled. “I mean, yeah, we just started dating and whatnot but… but I honestly think I could, ya know? Just… just live with her? Marry her, if she’s into that sort of thing?”

Luz nodded. Then, wiping the last of the tears from her face, she asked, “Well… I guess if I’m really one of your best friends… Does that mean I get to be the maid of honor?”

Emira blushed, but then let out a chuckle of her own. “I mean, you may have to fight Ed for the position.” 

Luz giggled. “Or maybe Amit-“

And then she stopped, and for a moment, she could feel herself start to tear up again. 

Emira chuckled until she noticed the young girl's face. Then, she pulled Luz back into a hug. “Luz? Is something wrong?”

Luz shook her head. “It’s just… I think… I think…” Now she couldn’t hold her tears back, and she ripped herself away from Em, putting her face into her hands. “Amity HATES me,” Luz let out, sobbing.

For her part, Emira laughed. “I’m sorry… what?” She shook her head. “Luz, that doesn’t… Amity would never…” Then, her eyes narrowed. “Luz, what makes you think Amity hates you?”

Luz dug inside her inner pocket to pull out the tiara. “I tried to give her back her Grom crown,” she said. “But when I did, she couldn’t even look at me. She told me to… to give it to someone I care about. Who makes me feel like you did.”

Emira’s face dropped. “She WHAT?”

“But I DO care about Amity,” Luz said, frustrated, stuffing the tiara back into her pocket. “I care about her so much! She’s an amazing friend, a wonderful and funny and kind and huggable and cute and smart and nerdy and-”

Luz stopped. _Where did_ THAT _come from,_ she thought, blushing. _Cute? Huggable? Why would I…_

_I mean it’s true, but..why would I say it?_

Em looked down at Luz, her face looking as if she was turning gears inside her mind. “Wait...what did you just…”

“NOTHING,” Luz lied. “I-I said-”

Then, Emira began to…

Smile?

She placed her hands on Luz’s shoulders and turned the young girl to face her. “Ok. So, Luz? Can I ask you a weird question?”

“No, you can’t eat King yet.”

Emira blinked. “Uhhhhhhhh...what?”

Luz blushed. “Er, sorry,” she chuckled out. “Remembered something stupid.” She waved her hand. “Anyway, sure. Just ask whatever.”

Em looked down, her face scrunched up as if she was trying to find the right words to ask the question.

“Luz, be honest… who do you think Amity has a crush on?”

Luz turned positively crimson. “Uh, wow, er, that’s a… that IS a very weird question.” She laughed, trying to play it off as nonchalant and not nervous. “Well… I don’t know, honestly.” She sighed. “Probably some… some Glandus guy.” She started to feel her chest tighten as she thought about it. “Some guy who’s super kind and brave. Who makes her feel safe and cared for. Who respects her and tells her dumb jokes.” She picked herself up and started to pace. “Some guy who makes her laugh her adorable little laugh. Some guy who loves Azura as much as she does. Some guy who hugs her and makes her happy and makes her feel safe enough to let her hair down and… AND SOMEBODY WHO ISN’T ME!”

She paused, and stood there for a moment, processing what exactly she’d just said.

_Why...why does that hurt so much to say?_

She turned back to Em, expecting her to look despondent or embarrassed at Luz’s outburst.

But she wasn’t.

She was still smiling.

“Uh, was I close,” Luz asked, confused.

Emira chuckled. “You got some of the details right, but they don’t go to Glandus. And there’s one tiny thing you kept being wrong about.”

Luz shook her head. “What was I-”

“Luz,” Emira said, picking herself off of the log and walking over to Luz. “I need you to promise me something. Ok?”

Luz scrunched up her face in confusion, but nodded. “Suuuuuuure,” she replied. “What is it?”

Emira placed her hands atop Luz’s shoulders. “I need you to do EXACTLY what Amity told you.”

Luz blinked. “But… it’s not mine. It’s Amity’s. I can’t-”

“Oh, I know,” Emira said, showing off her teeth and fangs with a wide smile. “But don’t worry. I’m sure she’ll understand. All I need is for you to keep it on you until you find someone who makes you feel cared about, and who you think likes you back, and I need you to give it to them without having to worry about what Amity will think about you giving it to someone else.” She winked. “Think you can do that?”

Luz expected to blush at Em’s wink. To look away, scared to embarrass herself or make herself a fool.

But this time, she didn’t feel embarrassed or anything.

She didn’t feel lovesick.

She just felt… like it was just a little thing Em would do. And that she could handle it.

Luz nodded. “Ok. I can do that,”

Em smiled and pulled Luz in for a hug. “Thank you Luz. You don’t know how awesome that is to hear.”

Again, Luz expected her heart to race or her face to flush or for something, anything, to happen that might make her ache for Em,

But she didn’t. She just smiled and hugged Em back, happy to say she had two of her friends back from this fiasco at least.

“Hope I’m not interrupting anything,” Viney called from inside the thicket of trees. Smirking, she stepped beside her girlfriend and smirked. “Oh? I see you two have made up nicely.”

Emira chuckled. “Sorry, Viney, but me and Luz are still just friends. Looks like you’re stuck with me still.”

Viney snapped her fingers. “Darn,” she joked. “And here I thought I’d finally gotten rid of you.”

Emira laughed and, letting go of Luz, threw her arms around Viney’s neck, kissing her lips. “Heh. Please. What would you do without me.”

Viney chuckled. “Spend much more time on actual schoolwork instead of making out with you in our little hideaways.”

“Hmmmm, I can’t say which sounds more fun to me,” Em joked, a smirk on her face as she leaned forward to steal another kiss.

Luz looked on again at another display of affection by the girl who rejected her last week. But instead of guilt or betrayal, Luz felt happy for Emira and Viney. She smiled, realizing she’d finally come to grips with everything.

_Em doesn’t like me. Not like that. But that’s ok. She can be happy with Viney, and we can still be friends, and one day I’ll find someone who makes me happy the same way they make each other happy._

For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Luz smiled a genuine, completely authentic, no strings attached smile.

“So, V,” Luz asked, cutting the two loverbrds off. “Find Boscha yet? Or just afraid I was gonna steal your girl?”

For a second, Viney looked back, confused. Then, as Luz wiggled her eyebrows in the most ridiculous and over the top way possible, she laughed. “HA! Oh Titan, no…” She chuckled, shaking her head. “No, I did actually find Boscha.” Viney pointed back the way she came. “She’s back there. She fell through some trees and got super scratched up. May have a few broken bones too.” The brunette smirked. “Nothing a few powerful, and perhaps painful, healing spells won’t fix, at least till she’s in a cast.” She looked back at Emira and smiled. “Wanna go give that little creep a lesson in spying on our friends?”

Emira nodded, smiling, then turned back to Luz. “You wanna come? It could be fuuuuun.”

Luz shook her head. “Nah. The offer is quite tempting, I’ll admit, but I think Eda’s gonna want me home soon. Besides, I’ve got some… stuff. Stuff I need to think about, if that’s ok.”

The two nodded. “Sure thing,” Emira said. Taking Viney’s hand in hers, she walked with the other girl to the edge of the clearing. “See ya around, Luz,” she called out.

“See ya around, Em,” She said, waving back. “See ya round, Viney.”

Luz watched as the two girls left to go exact vengeance, mostly on her behalf. And Luz turned to what she believed was relatively the direction of the Owl House.

For the first time all day, she felt like she was happy. She felt like she was Luz again.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Luz walked through the forest, even with a smile on her face, things in the back of her mind gnawed at her.

_Why did Em care about who I thought Amity’s crush was? Why did it bother me so much that it wasn’t me? Why do I care about them so much? Why did Amity leave me still?_

Luz couldn’t help but keep these questions rolling in her mind. So much so that, as she came upon another clearing, she wasn’t paying attention to where she was going.

And tripped over a bush.

“GAAHHHHHHH,” Luz cried out, collapsing onto the ground for the second time that day. Picking herself up and dusting herself off, she grumbled to herself before looking around. Something about this place seemed… familiar. 

And then she looked back at the menacing bush, the one she’d just tripped over, and squinted at it. It had recovered a bit, started to pop back up in a few places, but as she stared, it became more and more apparent to Luz what she’d just tripped over.

It was the same bush Amity had landed in on Grom night.

She sighed at the memory, remembering how the green haired witch had looked with her hair down, the separate strands cascading down her face, her bright golden eyes, her lips-

She smacked herself in the forehead and violently shook her head. “NONONONONO,” she cried out. “BAD BRAIN! DON’T THINK ABOUT THAT! DON’T YOU KNOW THAT AMITY DOESN’T… like… girls…”

Luz stopped, her voice trailing off. As it did, she thought about what Emira had said, about Amity’s crush. 

_There’s one tiny thing you kept being wrong about_

What had she been wrong about? What had she kept getting wrong? It didn’t make any sense. All she’s said was that he was kind and he was cool and he-

She stopped thinking for a second, blinking. _The only thing I kept saying repeatedly was…was that it was…_

Luz began to really think about what she knew about Amity’s crush. Officially, it was next to nothing: just that they made Amity nervous. But as she looked back on everything, it started to become more and more clear that it was, really, next to nothing. Literally. It could be anyone! It could be a guy! It could be a girl! It could even be…

A wave of memories came flooding through Luz’s mind. She remembered Grudgby, and Amity’s weird freakout over seeing her sweat. She remembered how tightly she’d held onto her when she took her to the nurses office. She remembered her at Grom, how eager she was to dance with her, so eager to help with the prank. She remembered afterwards, staying with her, how Amity hugged her when she was melting down. And she remembered right here, in this very clearing, when Amity had taken a deep breath and told her…

_I… I really, really like you, Luz._

For a second, Luz stopped breathing. The realization hit her like a freight train.

She wasn’t just the first human in decades to walk the Isles.

She was also the densest.

“A-Amity Blight likes me…” 

Luz stepped back in shock.

“Amity freaking Blight likes me.”

Then, Luz began to laugh. 

“OH...OH WOW! AMITY FREAKING BLIGHT! THE AMITY BLIGHT, ONE OF THE COOLEST WITCHES ON THE BOILING ISLES...SHE LIKES ME! SHE LIKES ME! AND I-“

She stopped her laughing as another realization hit her like a bus.

“A-and I spent a whole week asking her to help me try to date her sister.”

Luz stood there for a full minute in silence, stunned at the stupidity of those words.

Then, she let out a frustrated, angry cry.

It was going to be hard, reconciling with a Blight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: In addition to thanking the wonderful vicky_.draw (https://www.instagram.com/vicky_.draw/?hl=en) for the beautiful artwork, I also would like to thank my awesome enbuddy Kai, the head moderator of the Good Witch Society Discord Server, for helping me with editing. Unfortunately, I originally posted this without it being beta'd due to wanting to promote the awesome Project: Unraveled chapter that was coming out that day, and issues with not being able to see comments made me unable to make changes. Thankfully the comments showed up and I made all the neccessary changes. All the alterations are purely grammatical and won't affect the story. 
> 
> So, that ending, huh?
> 
> Just two more chapters to go. We're in the home stretch people. I hope this satiates you until I finish the next chapter. But, if not, don't worry. You can read some more of my new work later tonight. Along with other talented writers such as QuirkQuartz (Valeween), ChaoticMasterpiece (All I Want for Hexmas is You), and more! Tonight we release the latest chapter of our new story, Project: Unraveled, a Beta Steampunk AU epic. It's meant to be a big project, and we couldn't have done it without all meeting in the awesome Good Witch Society Discord server. If you want to check out the story itself, go here (https://archiveofourown.org/works/28969497/chapters/71090442). We have a prologue already, and soon we'll have the first official chapter up. And, even better, you can join the Discord server itself and not only get updates on both Unravel and our own project, but meet us and a bunch of other awesome people too! (https://discord.gg/DC9tzb4c)
> 
> On top of that, a fun update on this story: Art will be coming soon! I've commissioned some pieces from awesome artists, most even from the server! I'll retroactively put them in chapters 1-3, but the one for chapter 5 should be finished in time for it to go up alongside it. I hope you enjoy them!
> 
> Also, I probably will be mainly using my Insta for art commisions and when a chapter is finished. As stated, I'll be giving updates in the Discord server and I haven't been using the Insta as much as I would like, but I'll try to use it as much as possible still (https://www.instagram.com/desmondkaneofao3fame/?hl=en).
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you did and haven't, please leave a Kudos, and if you really REALLY liked it, a comment is appreciated. Thank you all for reading, and I hope to update for you soon.


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